What Makes for Good Worship?

Posted on October 4, 2026 by Barbara Harper

What do we mean when we say something like “The worship was good today at church?”

Many of us refer to the song time as worship. So we might mean that we liked–or even just knew–the songs. We might mean that we were in good voice, or the worship team was. Or we could be referring to a lack of distractions or feeling uplifted after the song service.

But what about when we don’t know the songs? Or they’re too high or low for our range? Or they’re not our favorites? Or there are technological glitches or distractions?

Does God not still deserve to be worshiped even then?

Someone at my alma mater used to say that worship is worth-ship–ascribing to God His worth. It’s not that He needs worship. He is secure in who He is. But we need to worship: first of all because He is worthy, but also because if we don’t see Him aright, we’ll likely be off in other areas of our heart and lives.

We can ascribe to God His worth in so much more than the musical part of the service: in paying attention during the Sunday School lesson and sermon, in giving, in reaching out to others.

And we can worship everywhere, not just at church. Yes, there is much of value in worshiping God together as a family of believers, and we’re commanded to do so.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” That’s every day, every moment:

-praying for patience and kind words when we want to lash out so we can better reflect God to others.

-listening to praise music when we’re stuck in traffic.

-when appliances break down, remembering that nothing in the world is permanent and we have a better home in heaven. We can lay up treasure “where moth and rust do not corrupt.”

-remembering God’s patient, loving care of us while we’re calming a fretful child.

-reminding ourselves, when we’re doing some household task we don’t like, that we’re imitating a God who brings order out of chaos.

We associate worship with a good feeling. Pastor Erwin Lutzer has said, “Worship that is not based on God’s Word is but an emotional encounter with oneself.”

But we can worship in spite of feelings. Job worshiped after everything was taken from him. David worshiped in caves hiding from enemies who were trying to kill him. Paul worshiped while in prison.

Elisabeth Elliot has said, “Worship is not feeling. Worship is not an experience. Worship is an act, and this takes discipline. We are to worship in spirit and in truth. Never mind about the feelings. We are to worship in spite of them.” (from Let Me Be a Woman).

Sometimes worship spontaneously flows while singing praise songs or reading the psalms. But other times, we have to deliberately turn our minds to who He is and what He has done for us. Romans 12:2 talks about being “transformed by the renewal of your mind.” The more time we spend in God’s Word, the more He can transform our thinking, no matter the circumstances.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Stay in the Rough Waters

Posted on September 27, 2026 by Barbara Harper

While I was making breakfast one morning last week, I listened to Dr. Stephen Davey’s radio program, Wisdom for the Heart. He told one man’s account of preparing to go white-water rafting at the base of Victoria Falls in Africa. He said the highest class of rapids one can legally take a raft on in the US is Class 5. These rapids were Class 8.

Among the guide’s instructions were these: when (not if, but when) your raft overturns, stay in the rough waters. He said your first instinct is to make it to the shore where the waters are still and quiet. However, you don’t want to do that because that’s where the crocodiles are.

I am not planning to ever go white water rafting. But when I am in life’s rough waters, my first instinct is to get out of them as soon as possible. When life is calm again, then I’ll be ready to learn whatever lessons I need to.

Yet life doesn’t work that way. God wants us to trust Him in the rough waters as well as the still ones.

Sometimes you have to let the waters take you to their expected end. Sometimes there are hidden dangers in what seems safe.

That same morning, I had read Exodus 5 and 6 where Moses approached Pharaoh for the first time to tell him God had said to let the Israelites go three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord. Pharaoh, of course, did not consent. In addition, he stopped supplying them with brick-making material, told them to find their own, yet required the same quota of bricks for them.

The people were upset with Moses for making life worse for them. Moses cried out to God. Why have you brought this trouble on Your people? Why have you sent me here? You haven’t delivered Your people (with the seeming implication, “Like you said you would”).

God was going to keep His promises. He loved His people and was going to deliver them from Egypt’s oppression. But He had a larger purpose. In Exodus 6:7, God told Moses, “You shall know that I am the LORD your God.” But in 7:5, He also said, “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.”

The process would take time and be difficult. But they would see the hand of the Lord like never before.

Similarly, after Israel was freed from Egypt and standing at the edge of the land God had promised to them, they refused to go in. It was going to be too difficult, too dangerous, too much work. They had God’s promises plus the experience of seeing all He did to deliver them from Egypt. But they wanted to play it safe. For their unbelief and disobedience, they were made to wander forty years in the wilderness.

Sometimes troubled waters come on us unexpectedly, like the Israelites in Egypt. What’s happening doesn’t seem like an answer to prayer. In fact, the situation seems the opposite of answered prayer. But God sees the bigger picture. He often has more in mind than we know. He knows what He wants to accomplish, where He plans to lead us, and how He will take care of us.

Sometimes, like the Israelites just outside the promised land, we foresee real or imagined difficulties ahead. Even though we’ve followed God’s leading and we’re right where He wants us, even though we have His promises and experience with His power, we decide the rough waters are just going to be too hard.

Dr. Davey didn’t share the rest of the guide’s instructions. I assume if you fall into rough waters, you let the waves carry you until you can either get back into the raft or until you come to a calmer place that doesn’t have crocodiles.

The psalmist tells of people caught in a storm at sea who, after a harrowing journey, were brought to quiet waters in “their desired haven” (Psalm 107:23-32).

The disciples experienced something similar when they got caught in a storm on a lake. Jesus rebuked the wind and told the sea to be still. (Mark 4:36-41). “And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

Whatever metaphorical rough waters we might be facing–an unexpected diagnosis, family problems, financial troubles, relational woes, and many others–there are really no options but to ride the waves through the situation. Yet we have His promise that “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you” (Isaiah 43:2).

Then, with the psalmist we can say, “For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. . . . we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance) (Psalm 66:10, 12).

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Grace vs. Presumption

Posted on September 20, 2026 by Barbara Harper

A while back, I saw a plethora of memes and tee shirts with sayings that started out, “Forgive me for what I said when I was . . . .” The sentence finished in various ways, “hangry” and “hormonal” being the two I saw most.

We all know those situations when we’re not at our best–when we’re hungry, tired, or stretched to our limits. When hormones are raging. When in traffic jams. When someone else is short with us. For an introvert, it may be when they’ve been in social situations for hours and just want to get back to the quietness of their rooms.

It’s good to take these things into account when interacting with others. When a toddler is having a meltdown in the grocery store because errands have taken too long and he’s hungry and tired, a lecture on discipline isn’t going to do the trick. If a husband comes home frustrated over a situation at work, that may not be the best time for a sensitive heart-to-heart discussion. When a woman is in the last throes of labor, we understand she has a lot going on physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and she may say things she usually wouldn’t.

While we give grace to others, we need to give grace to ourselves as well. Someone has said that sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap. It’s not self-indulgent to take care of whatever the underlying problem is.

In fact, I have always been touched by how God dealt with Elijah. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah has a showdown with the prophets of Baal. They’re to set up a sacrifice to their god and ask him to answer by fire. Elijah does the same. Nothing happens to the sacrifice for Baal, though they pray and cry and even cut themselves. But Elijah has water poured over his sacrifice three times, and even still, God sends fire that burns up the sacrifice and dries up the water.

But then in chapter nineteen, Queen Jezebel threatens Elijah’s life. He flees a day’s journey into the wilderness and asks to die.

It’s significant that before God even begins to deal with Elijah, He allows Him to sleep for a while and then sends an angel with food and drink. He took care of the prophet’s physical needs before talking with him about what was going on in his heart.

And sometimes we need to do that with ourselves and others.

However . . . there’s a difference between taking care of physical and emotional needs and being presumptuous. If I am “hangry,” I need to get something to eat as soon as possible, but that doesn’t give me a right to lash out at everyone in my path until I do.

If I am over-tired, I need to rest as soon as I can. But sometimes there is no rest in sight. That doesn’t mean I am justified in being short-tempered with people. It just means I need grace even more to carry on.

I used to wrestle with how in the world to be civil, much less nice to people, when hormones were raging. I’ve known women whose whole households (and in one case, the whole church) were turned upside down during their time of the month. There are things that can help, and we need to understand hormones are real factors. But we don’t abandon all self-control and just give way.

I almost titled this post, “There are no exception clauses to being filled with the Spirit” or to holiness. But I thought that might sound a little harsh. It’s true, though, that the Bible doesn’t say “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 3:22-23)–except when you’re over-tired. Or “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3)–except when you’re hormonal.

In one of Amy Carmichael’s books, in the midst of her own health problems, she wrote:

This prayer was written for the ill and for the very tired. It is so easy to fail when not feeling fit. As I thought of them, I also remembered those who, thank God, are not ill and yet can be hard-pressed. Sometimes in the midst of the rush of things it seems impossible always to be peaceful, always to be inwardly sweet. Is that not so? Yet that and nothing less is our high calling. So the prayer is really for us all.

Before the winds that blow do cease,
Teach me to dwell within Thy calm;
Before the pain has passed in peace,
Give me, my God, to sing a psalm,
Let me not lose the chance to prove
The fulness of enabling love,
O Love of God, do this for me;
Maintain a constant victory.

Before I leave the desert land
For meadows of immortal flowers,
Lead me where streams at Thy command
Flow by the borders of the hours,
That when the thirsty come, I may
Show them the fountains in the way.
O Love of God, do this for me;
Maintain a constant victory.

I don’t always think in terms of constant victory. Do you? My first reaction is, “I’m only human.”

I am only human. But that’s not an excuse to sin when circumstances are more trying than usual. It just means I need God’s grace even more.

That passage in 2 Peter goes on to say, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

We have God’s Word, His “precious and very great promises” by which we know Him and fellowship with Him. We have the example of Christ, who resisted Satan’s temptations in the wilderness when He was more hungry and tired than we’ll ever be (Matthew 4:1-11). We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. We have “all things that pertain to life and godliness” through “His divine power!”

That doesn’t mean we paste on fake smiles and constantly say “Everything’s fine” when it’s not. We can be honest about our struggles while still seeking God’s grace in them. I think of people like Joni Eareckson Tada and Elisabeth Elliot who have been transparent and real about what they’ve gone through yet inspire us by their responses.

God’s grace covers us when we fail. But He also gives grace not to fail when we seek it.

I hope you understand I am not trying to heap guilt on anyone or expect perfection. I write not as one who has mastered these things, but as one who needs these reminders. There is room in the Christian life for lament, anguish, and pouring out the depths of our hearts. Our Father “knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust,” and “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13-14).

But in our trials, may our heart’s desire be, “Let me not lose the chance to prove The fulness of enabling love.”

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Do You Want Peace?

Posted on September 13, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Do you want peace?

Who doesn’t, right?

It might be helpful, though, to define what we mean by peace. When I think of peace, I envision nothing stressful going on–no pressure, no conflict, a time of ease, of having enough (provisions, time, etc.).

Life isn’t always like that, though, is it?

We can pray for peace:

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

But the Bible also tells us to pursue peace:

“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).

Here are some ways to do that.

First, we acknowledge that peace is found in Jesus Christ.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility” (Ephesians 2:14-16).

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Jesus said His peace is not like the world’s (John 14:27). His peace doesn’t mean all the circumstances will be calm and favorable. But even during tribulation, we can have His peace.

Peace is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Peace is a byproduct of faith:

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

“And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever” (Isaiah 32:17).

God often gives peace through His Word. When we don’t feel peaceful, what are we feeding our minds? What are we focusing on?

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4).

We also find peace in surrendering to God. Sometimes my inner conflict comes when a situation isn’t working out like I wanted, or when I fear what God might ask of me. But when I turn my anxieties and fears and all the possible outcomes over to Him, I can rest in His wisdom and love.

“The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:5b-7).

Sometimes peace comes after discipline. When something isn’t right between us and another person, peace isn’t restored until we can talk the situation out and apologize. It’s similar with God. When we’re knowingly doing something we shouldn’t, or not doing what we should, we won’t be at peace with Him until we confess it and ask forgiveness. Sometimes our trouble is God’s discipline to bring us back to a right place with Him.

“For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:10-11).

“Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea” (Isaiah 48:18).

Let me say here, though, that if we have a sense that something isn’t right between us and God, the best thing to do is ask Him to search us and show us what’s wrong, and then wait quietly to see what He brings to mind. He wants us to be right with Him, so He convicts specifically. A general sense of unease without specific conviction may be a result of filling our minds with other things besides His truth.

There’s much more that could be said about spiritual peace. There are 361 verses in the ESV containing the word “peace,” not to mention verses that talk about it without naming it, allude to it, or use a different word. But these give us the main gist of biblical peace.

God sent Jesus to make the way by which sinful people can have peace with a holy, sinless God. He took our punishment on Himself that we might be forgiven and made God’s children. Believing in Him, focusing on Him, beholding Him, spending time in His presence, getting to know more and more of who He is, filling our minds with His word, seeking His grace to obey it will all lead us to His peace.

May the LORD bless you and keep you;
may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

When You Have to Keep Going

Posted on September 6, 2026 by Barbara Harper

There’s an often overlooked incident in the life of Jesus’ disciples. Mark 6 is packed with action, like the rest of his book. Beginning at verse 7, Jesus sends the disciples out to preach and heal. There’s a brief parenthesis where we learn of John the Baptist’s fate. Then the disciples return, and Jesus tells them to come and rest. They go away on a boat, but people see them and run ahead of them to meet them where they landed. Jesus has compassion on the people and teaches them for a while. Then He feeds over 5,000 of them from a boy’s small lunch. Jesus sends the disciples ahead in the boat and then goes to pray. Then He sees that they are having a hard time on the lake. He walks on the water toward them and calms the wind.

The gospel writers don’t always record events chronologically, and they don’t record all the same details. But if things happened in the order and timing as it appears in this chapter, all of these things happened in one day. The chapter and verse divisions and headings, which weren’t in the original manuscripts, are helpful but sometimes cause us to read each section as an isolated incident instead of realizing they’re in a particular order for a reason.

But the overlooked fact I mentioned is this: the disciples apparently didn’t get the rest Jesus called them to in verse 31. We don’t know how long they were in the boat trying to go to “a desolate place.” Maybe some of them got a catnap on the boat. But it appears people got there before them, eager to hear Jesus again. So after already ministering for a while, they ministered again, helped pass out food to the people, and traveled by boat again against strong winds.

God has made us limited creatures in need of rest. We sleep about a third of the day, trusting that the world can get along without us for a while and God will take care of everything while we’re out. He built a day of rest into our week from the first week of creation. He scheduled Israel’s yearly calendar with feast days–holy days, which became holidays.

But sometimes that rest is disrupted and we have to carry on. When I became pregnant with my first child, I knew about morning sickness, but I wasn’t prepared for how tired and drained I would feel. I was working full-time and could take an occasional sick day, but I couldn’t check out for my whole first trimester. I sometimes went back to a stockroom to lay my head against a shelf for a few minutes before I went back to my assignment.

Then came the “zombie days” of little sleep with a newborn in the house. I tried to catch up on sleep when the baby napped, but I still had to get up to tend to him whether I was tired or not. That was exacerbated when the second baby came and there were fewer opportunities for rest with an infant and preschooler in the house. Then with three children and a husband at work or out of town, I couldn’t take “sick days” when I wasn’t feeling well.

I’ve read of people in war time, in POW camps, in various situations where they have had to endure beyond what seems humanly possible.

Sometimes in life it is noble and necessary, and even spiritual, to push through. Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, ““Most of the world’s work is done by people who don’t feel very well.”

But when I contracted transverse myelitis, my body wouldn’t let me do that any more. I had to rest up both before and after any event.

Though my stamina improved, with age and other health issues, I try to schedule rest in-between activities and events. I can feel overwhelmed when there are too many things going on too close together.

However, despite my best efforts, sometimes unexpected appointments or activities crop up. Just looking at the calendar, I don’t see how it is all going to work out. But nothing can be changed. What do we do then?

We tell the Lord about it. We ask Him for wisdom and strength. And then we trust Him to provide what we need to carry on.

We rest in passages like Isaiah 40:29 and 31: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. . . . They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

We trust that “as your days, so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).

And we lean on 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

We don’t recklessly over-schedule ourselves as if we had no limits. But when things pile up that seem more than we can handle, we trust Him to provide what we need. Sometimes that means getting help from others. Sometimes that means seeking wisdom for what can be removed from our plate. Sometimes that means relying on God for strength beyond our normal capacity. And no matter what else is going on in our lives, our hearts can rest in Him.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Opinions

Posted on August 30, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I don’t remember where this little bookmark came from, except that it was tucked in as an unexpected freebie with something else that I had ordered.

The design is cute. One side says “Quill Power.” But the quote on the other side is a little strange: “Armed with ink and opinions, this desk shall forever be my battlefield.”

A quick Google search doesn’t show any sources for this quote. But doesn’t it sound just like a lot of Internet communication these days?

There are a few problems, though, with being “armed with opinions.”

Our opinions might not be right. We might not have all the details. Our sources may be wrong. Our views may be skewed by our own frame of reference and not understanding another’s.

Even if our opinions are on the right track, however, is it best to “go to battle” with them?

Duty Calls by xkcd

It depends.

According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary, one definition for “opinion” is “a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter.” Another is “belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge.”

If we go to battle with our opinions, judgments, and views, how do we determine who wins the battle? The one who speaks the loudest? Or uses the most words? Or is the most condescending towards other views? Or gathers the most “likes” and agreeing comments?

If my opinion is my own view or judgment, and the other person’s opinion is their view or judgment, how can we determine who is right? Even if our opinion is based on facts (as we perceive them), the other person might have the same facts, but interpret them a different way.

It’s not wrong to have opinions, even strong opinions. We don’t have to be spineless and wishy-washy, never expressing an opinion for fear of offending someone. But we need to remember our opinions are just that, and other people are entitled to theirs.

And then, do we even need to express our opinions all the time? A while back, during a period of unrest, the online sentiment was, “If you don’t share a correct opinion on these issues, then by your silence you’re complicit with the wrong side.” But not everyone with a blog or social media account will want to get in on every cultural conflict. They may have strong opinions but not feel their venues were the best place for them. They may want to reserve those thoughts for quieter, less volatile conversations.

Plus, we have access to so much more news and information these days, we can’t possibly have an opinion on everything, unless maybe we spend all day online.

Even on lesser matters, we don’t always need to share our own opinions. You’ve probably met people, as I have, who not only hold strong opinions about nearly everything, but must express them.

If a fellow blogger shares that she enjoyed roasted eel recently, we don’t have to say, “Eww, gross,” even though that’s what we are thinking. We might say, “Interesting. I’ve never had that.” Or we might not mention it at all.

It’s okay to discuss differing opinions if both sides can do so without devolving into anger and put-downs. If I say I love a certain book, and someone else says, “Oh, I hated that one.” I’d probably ask, “What didn’t you like about it?” And we might have an enlightening conversation. Or we might not. You learn, over time, what people you can have those kinds of conversations with and what people you can’t.

I respect and am more likely to listen to those whose opinions are slow in forming, based on years of wisdom and life experiences as well as Scripture, than those who write an opinion piece every week (or day) on the current hot topic. I’ve been greatly helped by sorting through issues by discussing opinions with a trusted friend.

If I am asked my opinion on something, I try to hedge it with “Based on my understanding . . . ” or “My thought is . . .”

But there is a difference between an opinion and absolute truth. An opinion may be based on truth or may not be. I can give way to some opinions, but I can’t give way on truth. Contrary to popular belief, truth is not elusive or ephemeral.

The Bible says, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” (John 15:26).

God’s Word is truth (John 17:17).

But even armed with truth, we don’t use it to bludgeon. We’re told to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). Our purpose isn’t to battle with our opinions, but to be gracious instruments through which God might “open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18).

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

When God Doesn’t Meet My Need

Posted on August 23, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Several years ago, I was preparing to attend my second writer’s conference. There’s always a butterflies-in-the-stomach-feeling when facing a trip. But I wasn’t consciously nervous since I had been to this conference the year before, and it was in a town where I used to live.

However, for some reason, I could not get much sleep the night before. I couldn’t get comfortable. I was too hot, then too cold. My knee started tingling. I played music on my phone, then tried an audiobook. Nothing helped. Of course, I prayed off and on all night.

I ended up with maybe two hours of sleep. It’s one thing to putter around the house without much sleep, but I was in no condition to drive for three and a half-hours.

I couldn’t help but wonder if God didn’t want me to go. I had good motives: I wanted to learn writing and the publishing industry better in order to be a more effective writer for Him. But had I asked Him about this conference? I couldn’t remember.

So I did ask at that point, as well as asking for wisdom to know what to do next. As I prayed and pondered, I decided to go ahead and get ready, then try to take a nap in my desk chair, and see how I felt after that. I asked God to multiply my sleep like the loaves and fishes and make it enough if He wanted me to go.

And that’s what happened. After I slept for a short while, I hit the road. I missed most of the opening session, but was able to attend the rest of the day’s meetings, slept well at the hotel that night, attended the Saturday sessions, had a great time, and made it home safely late that afternoon.

But for several days, I was confused, frustrated, and even a little wounded over that long night of sleeplessness. Why would God create me to need sleep and then not provide it, especially on a night when it was so crucial? Why would He not answer earnest prayer to enable me to do something for His glory?

One of the first thoughts that came to mind was Psalm 66:18: “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Unmet needs and seemingly unanswered prayer can lead to soul-searching.

Deuteronomy 8:3 also came to mind. During Israel’s days of wandering in the wilderness, a couple of times they were without water and food–a dangerous situation any time, but especially in the desert. God told them, “He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

One of God’s purposes for letting them hunger was to humble them. There’s nothing like being in desperate need to make us humble ourselves before the Lord. We realize there’s nothing we can do, and we cast ourselves on Him completely. However much we need bread–or sleep–we need Him more.

That also seems to be what Paul is saying in Philippians 4:11-13: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” God gives us strength to face both abundance and need with contentment, knowing He will take care of us in His own time and way.

Whatever other factors that might have played into my sleeplessness that night, my main conclusion was that God wanted me to depend on Him in ways I would not have otherwise.

God did actually answer both my need for sleep and the Israelites’ need for food and water–just not in the conventional way.

That helps me when thinking of death. This is probably not a spiritually healthy way to look at it, but death could seem like the final unanswered prayer or unmet need. We prayed for healing, but our loved one died. We prayed for safety, but our loved one got into a fatal accident.

But God said no to those prayers so He could provide something better–eternity with Him. Heaven is not a lesser answer.

Hebrews 11, often called the “Hall of Faith,” tells of Abraham, Noah, Samson, and others who experienced great victories for the Lord. But the last few verses tell of others who were beaten, persecuted, destitute, and mistreated. These were not second-class believers whose faith fell short. They were “commended through their faith” though they “did not receive what was promised” in their lifetimes.

Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:31-33).

God knows what we need, both physically and spiritually. He might withhold a physical need for a while to work on a greater need in our hearts. But He’s a good Father who loves and cares for His children. He wants us most of all to trust Him and rest in Him.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Biblical Self-Concept

Posted on August 17, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Some years ago, when I was a young mom, it seemed like self-concept was the topic of the times. There was no Internet then, but we heard about a biblical view of self from women’s meetings and magazines.

I believe one reason the topic was so prevalent was because the world was touting the need for good self-esteem. Though their motives may have been noble, the idea of feeling good about yourself just for the sake of feeling good about yourself fell short.

After not hearing about self-concept in a while, lately it has come up in a number of places–in a ladies meeting at church, in conversations with a couple of friends, and in an online article and comments.

Being a slow processor, some of these thoughts have percolated on the back burner for a few weeks. I thought I’d share a few things that have helped me over the years.

If self-concept is how we think of ourselves, there are two ways we can go wrong. One is to think too highly of ourselves. We’ve all known people who thought they were hot stuff, their ideas were the best, their ways of doing things were the only valid ones. The Bible has a lot to say about humility and esteeming others higher than ourselves.

But usually if someone says they’re struggling with their self-concept, they mean it the other direction. They don’t feel “good enough” in their looks, their personalities, their clothes, their homes, or their abilities.

Sometimes a negative self-image comes from things our parents, friends, or schoolmates said as we were growing up. Sometimes it comes from comparing ourselves to others.

A wrong view of ourselves can be crippling, creating anxiety and sadness, lowering our confidence, paralyzing us from extending ourselves. We might seek solace in self-destructive activities or isolate ourselves overmuch.

One verse that has helped me in this area is Romans 12:3: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” A couple of translations say “sensibly” rather than “soberly.” According to Biblehub.com, the word means “To be of sound mind, be sober-minded, exercise self-control. From sophron; to be of sound mind, i.e. Sane, moderate.”

So how can we think about ourselves soundly?

I think, first of all, by remembering what the Bible says about us.

God made us in His image. That image has been marred by sin, yes. But each person has intrinsic value because God made them.

God sent His Son to die for us. God could have left mankind in sin. But He went to great pains to make a way that we might be forgiven through Jesus taking our sin on Himself on the cross.

God dearly loves us. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He didn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up first–we never could. Nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:37-38).

God accepts us. That God “made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6, NKJV) was pivotal for me in my own thoughts about myself.

God rejoices over us. “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

We’re children of the King. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). John writes later in 1 John 3:1, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”

We’re still in a state of growth, or in the process of sanctification. If we’re saved, we’ve been made new and given a new heart. But we still have the old nature that fights against us. When we sin, we don’t despair. We confess our sins to the Lord. (1 John 1:9), ask for forgiveness and His grace to overcome. We gradually change to be more like Him by gazing at Him (2 Corinthians 3:18), renewing our minds with His truth (Romans 12:1-2), and putting off our old selves and putting on the new one “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

God says we’re more valuable than the birds and flowers He cares for. Jesus told the disciples not to be anxious about their needs because God would take care of them. He pointed out the birds of the air and the flowers that “even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:25-33). He says, “Are you not of more value than they?”

God gives us something to do. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God equips us to do what He calls us to do. He gives spiritual gifts to each of His children. (Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; 1 Peter 4:10–11). He gives us “all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises” (2 Peter 1:3-4). He gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us and guide us.

We’re not enough, but God is. “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:4-5).

When old voices echo into our minds saying we’re not valuable or we’re “less than,” we need to correct our thinking with these and other truths from Scripture.

Secondly, we need to avoid comparisons.

Some of our biggest problems come in when we look at what other people have or do. Social media gets blamed for this, but, believe me, it was a problem long before.

The Bible tells us, “they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12, NKJV).

One experience in particular helped me with this. When my children were small, I had a friend at church who was about the same age with the same number of children spaced similarly apart. We traded baby-sitting for doctor’s appointments and such. Any time I was at her house, I noticed it was not only tidy and picked up, but it was nicely decorated. She sewed clothes for herself and her children, she sewed things for her home, and she sewed for other people. She was active in several ministries at church.

Meanwhile, I felt like I was barely keeping everyone fed and reasonably clean. I wondered many times why I couldn’t do all this woman did.

I finally had to realize that some people just had the capacity for more. If God passes out talents like the man in the parable, maybe she was a five-talent Christian and I was a two-talent Christian.

Some years later, this lady and her husband invited us to their home for dinner. Throughout the night, she kept getting up to start something or check on something or see about something. I thought, if this is the price for getting so much done, then maybe I’m okay with not doing so.

It’s not that either of us was right or wrong, worse or better: it was just a realization that God made us different, and that was okay.

Thirdly, we need to practice acceptance and contentment.

The disciples argued often about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. After Jesus’ death and resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell within believers, that didn’t seem to be as much of a problem.

Not everyone was given Peter’s place as the leader or his and James’ and John’s experiences with the Lord. Some of the disciples seemed to minister in relative obscurity.

When Peter asked Jesus what was going to happen to John, Jesus said, “What is that to you? You follow me!”

Something else that helped me was the realization that, whatever my strengths and gifts were, there was always going to be someone who could do what I did better. It’s not a contest. God has a place and a ministry for each of us. Our part is to faithfully serve Him in whatever He calls us to.

If someone has more or better or different gifts than I have, I can appreciate them and learn from them, but I don’t have to strive to be just like them. This came home to me with another friend who was one of the most organized people on the planet. I used to wish I was more like her, until I got to know her better. Some of the ways she organized just would not have worked for me and seemed too restrictive. Again, it wasn’t a matter of right or wrong, but of the different bent God gave each of us. If I had an organizational question, she would have been the first person I asked. But I didn’t have to lament that I wasn’t like her.

It’s the same with any area of life–finances, houses, clothes, looks, family size, and everything else. If someone has more or better, we can rejoice with those who rejoice.

We also don’t need to idealize others. Of course people are going to post good news on social media. That doesn’t mean their lives are perfect. Everyone has flaws and problems.

Finally, we need to turn our focus away from ourselves and minister to others.

We don’t ignore or dismiss thoughts about ourselves: we think biblically about ourselves. We may need counsel to sort out how to think and feel and respond to what others have said about us. But If we’re constantly looking at what other people have or do and feeling we’re falling short, where is our focus? On ourselves.

One of the best ways I have found to battle discontent with myself is to forget about me and minister to others. Instead of turning everything we observe from others into an unfavorable comparison with ourselves, maybe we can ask for God’s help to say something encouraging or complimentary to them. Or we can seek out other people who need encouragement. A stanza from Anna Laetitia Waring’s hymn has helped me, especially the last line:

I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, through constant watching wise,
To meet the glad with joyful smiles, and to wipe the weeping eyes;
And a heart at leisure from itself, to soothe and sympathize.

Another quote that has helped me is this from Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s Memoirs and Remains. I was looking up the quote about looking at Christ ten times for every look at ourselves just now when I found it in context:

Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. Such infinite majesty, and yet such meekness and grace, and all for sinners, even the chief. Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in His beams. Feel His all-seeing eye settled on you in love and repose in His almighty arms… Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him.

And, finally, this longer quote from Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis sums it all up:

The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self (which is Christ’s and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Does that sound strange? The same principle holds, you know, for more everyday matters. Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making. . .

Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

How Bible Study Is Like Practicing Music

Posted on August 9, 2026 by Barbara Harper

The various church choirs I’ve been in over the years have followed a similar practice pattern.

With some hymns, the choir director might give us background information about the composer or the story behind the song.

Then the director has the choir sight-read the whole song. After that, he’ll take a section at a time and practice the parts with each group–sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. Then he has us sing that section all together before going on to the next.

Once we have the parts down, we work on things like timing and dynamics (when to sing louder or softer). This involves singing either the whole song or shorter sections of it over and over.

As we practice the whole song, we often stop to go over any problem areas and smooth over any rough spots.

Even then, we’ll rehearse the complete song a few more times before singing it for the congregation. By that time, we know it pretty well. The time spent on individual parts helped the finished piece to come together.

I realized recently that Bible study works much the same way.

It’s good to read a paragraph or section of the Bible at a time, noting what we can of the context, author, and situation that led to the passage.

We might look up words we’re not sure of. One verse might remind us of something we read in another part of the Bible that we’ll then explore.

In trying to discern the author’s main point, we might look at repeated words. Is he comparing or contrasting anything? What does a “therefore” refer back to? What point is a “but” or “however” making?

After we study through the individual sentences–and sometimes the individual phrases or words in a passage–we put it all back together: we read the passage again with renewed understanding. It may feel like studying the parts takes away from the whole; but, actually, that study enhances our comprehension.We know the passage and its truths much better than we would have with a cursory reading.

Other ways learning a song in a choir is like Bible study:

A dedicated time. If we tried to learn a song without a regular time to get together and practice, we probably wouldn’t get very far. Likewise, if we don’t make a regular time in our schedule for Bible study, we’ll likely only read haphazardly, if at all.
Regular attendance. Everyone will miss choir practice occasionally due to illness or vacations. If people only drift in and out as they feel like it, they are not going to know the song as well. Once we set aside time for reading our Bibles, we need to make the commitment to show up as often as possible.
Others help us stay on track. In my earliest choir years, if I sat too near the altos or tenors, I’d find myself singing their parts. I had to position myself firmly surrounded by sopranos to stay on the right notes. It’s good to study the Bible on our own, but we need times with others as well. Joining a group Bible study or sharing what we’ve learned with a friend will not only strengthen our understanding, but will keep from drifting into misinterpretation or a wrong application.
Crossover learning. What we learn in one song often carries over into others. I didn’t have any kind of musical training when I first joined a choir, so learning the basic symbols, Latin phrases (forte, allegro, etc.), pronunciation, timing, etc. were foundational and helpful when starting new music. What we learn in studying one section of the Bible will aid us when we study other parts.

Being in a choir–or learning any type of music– might seem like work. It might even sound boring to go over one’s part again and again and to practice so many times. But we’ll never learn an instrument or song without regularly working at it. Yet that apparently mundane practice work will result in a number that’s beautiful, that ministers to others, and that gladdens our own hearts. We get much more out of it when we put time and effort into it.

Bible study might seem like work as well. We’d much rather just pick it up, read a few verses, and receive inspiration for our day. But the Bible is so much more than a spiritual pick-me-up. That everyday reading and study is where wisdom is developed, where our souls are nourished, where we come to know more about our God. We get much more out of it when we put time and effort into it.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Devotional Principles and Practices

Posted on August 2, 2026 by Barbara Harper

A few weeks ago, two different friends asked me what I do for my devotional time. Reading the Bible and praying is also known as quiet time, QT, devos, and who knows how many other names.

I felt a little awkward as I shared, because I certainly don’t hold myself up as a perfect example of what a quiet time should look like. And I felt I needed to share how and why I got to the practices I use now. One of my themes is that there is not one right devotional routine.

Still, I remember as a young Christian, it helped to have some practical advice rather than a general admonition to read my Bible.

After communicating with these friends, I began to think about sharing what I told them in a blog post. Instead, I decided to share some general devotional principles I’ve learned along the way.

Read with a plan. God can speak to us when we open the Bible at random. But, generally, we get more from a passage when we read it in context. I’m a big proponent of reading through a book of the Bible at a time. We wouldn’t read line two of paragraph one of a friend’s letter one day, then line four from paragraph five the next. We’d read the whole thing, then probably go back and reread certain parts.

I was also taught early on to read the whole Bible. God says it is all inspired by Him, so we should read it all. If we just floated in and out of our favorite passages, we’d miss some buried nuggets in unexpected places. Plus, some parts of the Bible help us understand other parts.

When I first became a Christian as a teenager, my church advocated reading the Bible through in a year. I am so thankful for that, both because I needed the structure and because that practice grounded me spiritually more than anything else.

But I found that I didn’t have time to stop and ponder what I was reading because then I’d get behind on my schedule. And once I fell behind, it was very hard to catch up.

There are multiple Bible reading plans on the Internet and in various Bible apps (a good variety is here). There are plans to read the Bible in 90 days, a year, or two, or five. Some plans incorporate readings from various parts of the Bible; some focus on a book at the time. Some plans go straight through from Genesis to Revelation (as I did for years). Others go back and forth between the Old and New Testaments (as I do now). The key is to find one that works for you. However, you’re not tied to that plan for the rest of your life–you can try different things.

Sometimes you’ll read a longer passage as an overview: other times you’ll study a smaller passage more in depth. I share ways to do both here: Ways to Both Read and Study the Bible.

If a certain verse or phrase or principle in a Bible passage piques our interest, it’s perfectly acceptable to stop and investigate it more fully. Or, alternatively, we could make a note of that verse or thought and come back to it later..

Read purposefully, not passively. One problem with using any kind of plan to read the Bible is that we can fall into a “getting the assignment done” mentality. We work through our routine and then check “Bible reading” off for the day.

But what is our purpose for reading the Bible? To get to know our God better and learn how He wants us to live.

When I first started reading the Bible, I was advised to underline promises with blue, warnings with red, commands with black, and salvation verses with yellow. That was helpful as far as it went. But that focus might cause us to miss the overall theme of a passage.

One of my pastors used to say the Bible is “divinely brief.” The Bible says God’s thoughts are more than the sand. Of all the multitudes of things God could have shared with us, He chose what is in the Bible. So everything there has a purpose.

As we read a passage, we can ask a number of questions. Who is saying what to whom? What is the line of thought developed in the passage? What does this teach me about God? Is the passage prescriptive, telling me something to do, like forgive others, don’t lie, etc.? Or is it descriptive, telling me what people did that I am supposed to learn from but not copy, like polygamy in the OT? What words are repeated? What are connecting words connecting?

Read prayerfully. The psalmist prayed, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). Jesus opened people’s minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). We can’t understand the Bible in our own human reasoning. We need God to unfold it for us.

We often think of prayer as a separate part of devotions, before or after Bible reading. But we can pray while we read. When we come across verses of praise, we can express them to God right then. When we’re convicted by what we’re reading, we can confess that to God immediately, ask His forgiveness and His help to change.

Read thoughtfully. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7). God told Joshua to meditate on His law day and night (Joshua 1:8), and we’re told the righteous person does just that (Psalm 1:2).

Biblical meditation isn’t emptying the mind: it’s turning the passage over in our thoughts, looking at it from all angles.

Sometimes part of our devotional routine might be staring out the window, thinking.

Read with aids. A good study Bible made a great difference in my understanding, giving background information, the meaning of the original Greek or Hebrew words, the different interpretations of a passage. Trusted study aids like Warren Wiesrbe’s With the Word or “Be” series are helpful. I’ve also used some of the Good Book Company’s “For You” books: Isaiah for You, etc. I’ve just started one of Charles Swindoll’s Insights series on books of the Bible. There are multitudes of Bible study aids and commentaries: perhaps ask your pastor or a good friend for recommendations.

Studying the Bible with a friend or group can be helpful, too. Discussing what we’ve read helps reinforce it. Often, someone will bring out a point we missed.

Read obediently. God tells us not just to hear but to do His Word (James 1:22). After (or sometimes during) reading the Bible, we need to ask what our response should be. Sometimes we need a definite outward response: we may need to apologize to someone, change our viewing habits, stop wasting money on certain purchases, etc. But sometimes the response is inward: I need God’s grace to respond to that person with love rather than irritation; I need to change my attitude toward a job I’m not looking forward to; I need to be grateful rather than complaining.

Remember there is no perfect plan. No matter what routine we use, there will be days we wrestle with sleepiness, distractions, or boredom. We have to battle our flesh as well as the enemy of our souls who would like to keep us from God’s Word.

Every time in the Word will not give us blinding flashes of insight. Every time in the Bible will not leave us feeling warm and cozy. Sometimes God will speak to a specific need or answer a particular question for us from His Word. But most often, it’s the daily intake of spiritual food that nourishes us and sustains us. It’s like physical food. Some meals are a Thanksgiving feast. Others are less memorable, but even the tuna casserole and peanut butter sandwiches nourish us.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in our devotional routines that we forget why we’re actually having them. We feel good when we’ve accomplished everything on our list and vaguely uneasy when we haven’t. But the point of a devotional time isn’t just to work through a routine: it’s to meet with God. That can happen over one verse or thirty if we have a heart that wants to meet with and get to know our God better.

There’s so much more that could be said–in fact, the book I am *trying* to make time to write is on this very subject.

If you’d like a peek into what some other women do for their devotional time, Christa Threllfall did a series of interviews on that topic here.