It Depends on How You Look at It

Posted on November 1, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I once saw a cartoonish drawing of two men sitting on prison cots, each looking at a window while holding a paper with pictures they had evidently drawn. One had drawn a picture of the window with bars. The other had drawn a picture of the trees outside the window (1).

I don’t remember if there was a caption, but the implication was clear. Two men in the exact same space and circumstances had vastly different viewpoints. One saw the bars that kept him imprisoned. One saw past the bars to see the beauty beyond.

There’s an incident in the Bible where people had different outlooks.When God led the children of Israel out of Egypt to Canaan, He told them to send ten men to spy out the land (Numbers 13). The men spent forty days in the land. They came back with a mixed report. The land was fruitful, “flowing with milk and honey.” But the people were strong, the cities large and fortified, and there were even giants that made the men feel like grasshoppers in comparison.

God had told the people in Exodus 23:20-33 that He would send an angel to go before them and bring them to the place He prepared for them. He said He would give them victory over the people of the land “little by little” (verse 30).

Caleb quieted the people and encouraged them that they could take the land (Numbers 13:30). He and Joshua reminded the people that God was with them and would give them the victory (Numbers 14:6-10).

But the people only saw the problems. They wept. They grumbled. They blamed Moses. They blamed God. They wished they had died in the wilderness. They wanted to go back to Egypt. They wanted to stone Caleb and Joshua.

People in the same situation, with the same promises of God, saw the situation completely differently.

There are other incidents as well. In 2 Kings 6, the king of Syria sent horses and soldiers to surround the city where Elijah was staying. Elijah’s servant panicked, but Elijah said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prayed and asked God to open the servant’s eyes. “So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” God’s protection was there, though at first it was unseen.

When Saul’s armies quaked before the giant Goliath, David stood up for God’s honor, believed God, and defeated Goliath in the name of the Lord (1 Samuel 17). All of those trained soldiers, all people who supposedly believe in the one true God, yet none among them but a boy believed God could defeat the giant.

When we’re in the middle of major problems–and sometimes even minor ones–the problem itself looms large until it’s all we can see. Everything else is colored by that issue.

Recently I saw a quote that said something like, “You can look at God through the lens of your problem, or you can look at your problem through the lens of God” (2).

When we view God through our problem, the problem looks big, even insurmountable. But if we look at the problem in light of God’s character and truth, our perspective changes and the problem is reduced to its proper size.

I don’t know why the Lord allowed an illness that took up a large part of last month (forgive me for talking about it so much, but I am still processing it). I admit to feeling down while in the hospital, especially when it looked like there was no improvement for a few days. The whole thing seemed like a big waste of time, keeping me from doing anything more useful. But as I’ve thought about the situation in the following days, I found many things to be thankful for:

Doctors, nurses, medicine, and treatments. Many ailments today are treatable that would have been a death sentence or had an even longer recovery period a hundred years ago.
My husband being retired so he didn’t have to stress about taking time off from work.
Being able to watch live-streamed church services. No, it’s not the same as being there in person, but it’s good when you can’t be there. I remember the days when that wasn’t an option: one had to wait a week or more to get a cassette tape of a service. And before that, you were just out of luck if you missed a service unless you had a friend who took good notes and would share them.
Texts and emails helped alleviate the feeling of isolation and made me feel cared for. That isolation made me appreciate time with friends and loved ones even more.
Even though it was the worst case of cellulitis I’ve ever had, it could have been even worse. Infections can go rogue suddenly and quickly. Our pastor emeritus caught Covid during the pandemic, was in isolation in the hospital for months, and ended up with a lung transplant. Jonah Scott had a strep infection that went toxic, causing much of his skin and tissue to be removed from his arm and side and requiring skin grafts afterward. Ciara Dierking went into the hospital almost three years ago with strep, the flu, and pneumonia which went septic. The treatments to save her life led to gangrene in all four limbs, which all had to be amputated. She had so many health challenges and nearly died, but God kept her alive, and a thriving ministry arose as she recovered. Though my infection was serious, it seems much lighter considering what these folks went through.
God used the situation to stir up a desire to take a more active role in doing what I can to take care of my health.

Looking at trials from a different perspective doesn’t mean we minimize sorrow and loss and just “look on the bright side.” The psalms give us examples of lament in trouble that helps our own hearts today.

But it’s a deliberate looking for God’s hand in our troubles. Jesus said we would have tribulations in this life, but He also promised:

to be with us: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2).
to give us grace: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
to use our trials to help us grow: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).
to use them to work “an exceeding and eternal weight of glory” on our behalf: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NKJV).

Concentration camp survivor Corrie ten Boom has said, “There is no panic in Heaven! God has no problems, only plans.” We may not see His plans. We may never know why He allows certain things in our lives. But we know He is wise, kind, good, and loving, and we can trust Him.

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

_____

(1) I’ve searched online to try to find the cartoon again. I’ve found some with a similar idea, but none exactly like the first one I saw.

(2) I’ve searched for this online but haven’t found it.

We Don’t Always Know Where God Is Working

Posted on October 25, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Perhaps you’ve seen the advice that, when trying to decide where to go and what to do with your life, you should find where God is at work and go there. I don’t know where this first originated, but I see some version of it from time to time.

The biggest problem I have with this instruction is that it’s not always obvious where God is working. The Bible sometimes likens God’s work to planted seeds. For a while, the bare dirt looks like nothing is going on. But there’s a lot happening underground until green shoots begin to make their way through the soil.

The father of what I called my adopted spiritual family told of how, as a young person, he was giving a girl a ride home from some activity when she asked him if he was saved. He answered somewhat harshly, “Of course I am!” But after he dropped her off, he asked himself what in the world she was talking about. That was the starting point that eventually led to his salvation as he learned more of what it meant to be a Christian. One moment. there was apparently no spiritual interest. But in the moments after an innocent question, the wheels started turning in his mind.

My own father was not an easy person to talk to. I was never courageous enough to speak to him face to face about spiritual things after I became a Christian as a teenager. But when I wrote to him from college, I would often write out salvation verses at the end of my letters. He never said anything about them, so I assumed he just skipped over them.

Fast forward about ten years. My father came to visit us, became gravely ill, and was admitted to the ICU in the hospital for a time. He was open to having our pastor visit, so he came out to see him several times. Then my father astounded us by saying he had believed on Jesus as his Lord and Savior that day when the pastor visited. Our pastor told us later that my father said, “My daughter has been trying to get me to do this for years” and mentioned the verses I used to write out in my letters. All that time, I had thought that there was nothing going on spiritually in his heart. But God was at work.

Adoniram Judson spent seven long and difficult years in Burma before one Burmese person believed in Christ. When you consider how very different the cultures, religions, and ways of thinking were between the American missionary and the Burmese nationals, it’s not altogether surprising that it took so many years of patient work before hearts were able to understand and be willing to change. But in the moment, it had to be discouraging when it looked like no progress was being made.

We have numerous incidents in the Bible of waiting on God while it seemed nothing was happening. Many times, the psalmists asked “How long?” when it seemed like God wasn’t moving on their behalf. Abraham was promised a son twenty-five years before he received Isaac. David was anointed king about fifteen years before actually becoming king and spent much of that time running for his life. The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt 400 years before Moses came. There were another 400 years between the Old and New Testaments where, as far as is recorded in the Bible, there was no prophetic word from God. Yet we know God was at work because He always has a remnant of His people. Simeon and Anna, Zachariah and Elisabeth, Mary and Joseph were all faithful believers at the end of that period.

Yet God is always working. Jesus said, ““My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17, NIV). He has not forgotten His promises or forsaken His servants. Sometimes His work is hidden, like yeast in dough, until it becomes obvious.

Sure, there were times Jesus told His disciples to depart and shake the dust of cities off their feet when people wouldn’t hear or receive the truth. But that’s a different thing from looking around and saying, “God doesn’t seem to be working here” and moving on. Sometimes, like the girl who spoke to my spiritual father, or Adoniram Judson in Burma, or Paul, who wanted to preach where Christ was not yet known, God wants to use people to begin a work.

There may be times to leave a field or a particular area of service. It may not have anything to do with whether God is working there or not. In Acts 8, Phillip has a thriving ministry in Samaria. But later in the chapter, an angel of the Lord told him to go down to a desert place where there was one man who was ready to hear the gospel and believe.

There may be times to leave a particular individual alone. Peter tells wives whose husbands are not believers to let their conduct and “the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” be a testimony to him (1 Peter 3:1-6). I don’t think this means she can never share the gospel. But it would be tempting in that situation to urge him too often and come across as nagging or pushing. He needs to see the changes Jesus has wrought in her life. God is still working, but through a different means.

So to me, the important question isn’t so much, “Where is God working so I can join in?” God can work any time, any where, and His work is not always visible to us. I think the better question is, “Where does God want me to work?” It may be somewhere new. It may be where others have begun and need help. It may be in a productive, fruitful field ripe unto harvest. It might be in a difficult field where there are many rocks and weeds to be removed. It may look like nothing is happening. We may not see the results, yet God promises His Word will never return empty, but will accomplish His purpose. We can be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

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

Afraid? Of What?

Posted on October 20, 2026 by Barbara Harper

After my post Sunday on Why Do Christians Dread Death?, this poem came to mind. I wished I had thought of it in time for my post. But maybe it was for the best since that post was quite long already.

Yet, as it has been on my heart, and we’ve already talked about death this week, I thought I’d go ahead and share this poem again. I’ve shared it before. I don’t remember where I first saw it–I think in something of Elisabeth Elliot’s. But it has been comfort to me. I pray it might also be encouraging to those who know God and create a longing in those who don’t know God to believe on Him.

It was written by a missionary named E.H. Hamilton after he heard that his friend and colleague, Jack Vinson, had been martyred and had fearlessly told his captors that if they killed him, he would go straight to God.

Afraid? Of what?
To feel the spirit’s glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace,
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
Afraid to see the Saviour’s face,
To hear His welcome, and to trace,
The glory gleam from wounds of grace,
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
A flash – a crash – a pierced heart;
Brief darkness – Light – O Heaven’s art!
A wound of His a counterpart!
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
To enter into Heaven’s rest,
And yet to serve the Master blessed?
From service good to service best?
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
To do by death what life could not –
Baptize with blood a stony plot,
Till souls shall blossom from the spot?
Afraid? Of that?

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

Why Do Christians Dread Death?

Posted on October 18, 2026 by Barbara Harper

“Why isn’t my daddy dying as well as you are?”

That’s a question a young woman asked Bob Roberts. I’ve mentioned Bob before. He is a preacher and speaker mainly at camps, but more recently in colleges. We attended the same church he and his wife did for several years, though they were in Hong Kong much of that time. A while back, Bob was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer and not given long to live. He didn’t want to waste his cancer, so he started a podcast with friends titled Dead Man Talking, where they discuss suffering, faith, friendship, and more.

Bob has already been granted more years than the doctors originally gave him. He has tried both traditional and alternative medicines, but has opted to live out the rest of his days without any more treatment. He wants to go full tilt, being used of God in whatever way he can with his time left on earth.

Though he is not looking forward to more cancer or to leaving his family and ministry, and he has been honest about the tough realities of the journey, he is also facing them in faith and even joy.

Perhaps that’s what this girl meant by wondering why her father wasn’t dying as well as Bob. Bob shared his answer to her on Facebook, saying that grace had been given him that was available to her dad, too, and they were comparing things not meant to be compared. He said her father may have victory in other areas that Bob doesn’t. Bob discusses his answer further with his friends on the podcast here in an episode titled, “Home Stretch Mercy: Living Hand-to-Mouth on the Faithfulness of God.”

This young woman didn’t say what her father specifically struggled with, at least, not that Bob shared. But I wondered as I listened to the podcast.

I’ve wrestled with various fears concerning death off and on, even though I don’t have a terminal diagnosis. I imagine many of us have. God has given us a strong survival instinct. I remind myself often that grace to die will come when it’s needed, not before.

Still, there are specific aspects of facing death that can rob us of peace. So I wanted to share some of those fears I’ve experienced and what helped me with them. My answers will be abbreviated for this post, but I don’t want them to sound pat or trite.

Fear of judgment. I think this might be the primary reason unbelievers fear death. But even believers who are normally confident in their salvation might question it if they know they are dying. There’s nothing like the thought of actually standing before God in all His holiness to make us tremble.

Fortunately, one reason God gave us His Word is “so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). We don’t have to face eternity wondering and hoping. We can know.

How? First we must realize that we are sinners. We have offended a holy God. “As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a).

No amount of good works can cancel out our sins. We can’t earn our salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). “If righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2:21).

But Jesus, God’s only Son, took our sin on Himself on the cross. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).

We receive that gift by repenting–turning from our own way and our sin to God– and trusting Him as our Savior. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. . . For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:9-10, 13).

(For more information, please see How to Know God.)

For years after I was saved, I struggled with assurance of my salvation. Had I understood enough? Believed enough? Repented enough? Finally my pastor shared with me that it doesn’t help to go back and dissect one’s salvation experience. We may not remember what we thought or felt at the time. The key is what am I right now trusting in for salvation? Myself, my works, or Jesus and His death on my behalf?

Even Christians who are sure of their salvation can fear facing God. We all stumble and fail along the way. But He promises “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). We can keep short accounts with Him: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Depressive effects of illness. I can get weepy after a week with a stubborn cold, not to mention anything more serious. Sometimes illness itself, or medications, or treatment, or a lengthy recovery can cloud our outlook, even when there is hope of getting better. But when there is no hope of recovery, that dark cloud can settle in.

It doesn’t help to tell ourselves just to look on the bright side. But He can help us “cast our care on Him” (1 Peter 5:7) and give us His grace to endure. “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” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Fear of pain. Many of us aren’t afraid of what’s on the other side after death, but we’re concerned about how painful the transition is going to be. Hospice care offers many helps to ease that transition. I’m not sure why some seem to have an “easy” death and others a harder experience. But I know God’s grace is there, and in eternity, what seemed long and painful on earth will seem short there. “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

Fear of losing our reason. Though that might happen, we can rest in the fact that God knows us. Any mental instability we might have at the end won’t erase the relationship we have with God. I like what a vicar said in The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge: “If you lose your reason, you lose it into the hands of God.”

Fear of leaving family behind. This is probably one of the hardest aspects of death. We don’t know why God sometimes separates children from parents or husbands from wives or grandparents from grandchildren. Though one of my main reasons for wanting to stay alive is to be a testimony to my family, I have to trust that He will take care of them when He takes me home.

Feeling I haven’t accomplished much with my life. God gives some people a platform that they haven’t sought–Bob Roberts, Joni Eareckson Tada, Elisabeth Elliot. But most of us live smaller, more ordinary lives. Our only responsibility is to be faithful where God has us. If we’ve failed, we can confess that to the Lord and start afresh, living every moment for Him, seeking His grace to shine His light where we are.

Fear of leaving work unfinished. There are a few things I would really like to get accomplished before I die. But I have to realize God doesn’t “need” me. There are things I think He has called me to do, and if that’s the case, He’ll provide the time and grace to do them. I want to make the best use of the time I have left on earth. But if He takes me home before I wrap up those things to my satisfaction, I have to trust Him with that. I think of people like Henry Martyn and Jim Elliot, missionaries who died in their thirties; David Brainerd who died at age 29; William Borden, who died at age 25 before ever reaching the mission field. I don’t know why God would take people with such potential so early. But none of us knows how much time we have. We’re not promised another breath. God knows our days. We just need to serve Him day by day and trust Him with the future.

Fear of the unknown. When I travel, or even when I make plans for the day, I like to know the route, the timetable, what’s on the agenda, what problems may come up that I need to prepare for.

Heaven, in one sense, is a great unknown. Someone has said that God doesn’t tell us any more about heaven than He has because we’d never be able to get any work done here for longing to be there. But with that lack of information, some of us have a dread of the “strangeness to the other world” (Richard Baxter, quoted in O Love That Will not Let Me Go: Facing Death with Courageous Confidence, compiled by Nancy Guthrie). I was glad to see I was not the only person with that feeling.

However, in the same book, Thomas Boston reminds us, “Your best friend is Lord of that other world.” We see the beauty of God’s creation here even though it is marred by the fall. We can only imagine what heaven might be like. We’re told it’s a place where there is no sorrow, crying, death, pain, or pain.

Perhaps if the place we’re going seems strange, it’s because we’re too tied to this world. In The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis said, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” Peter reminds us we’re only “sojourners and exiles” here. Hebrews 11:16 speaks of those who “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.” 1 Peter 1:3-5 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Struggling to surrender to God’s will. Some years ago, a friend with five children faced a terminal diagnosis of cancer. Though she finished her course with joy, it took a while to accept that she would not be able to see her children grow up. In our humanness, it’s natural to be disappointed that we won’t live longer.

It has always encouraged me that even Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done” in Gethsemane just before He was arrested. He knew this was His hour and the reason He came. Yet He had to face not only horrible physical pain, mocking, and being forsaken by His disciples, but, what was worse, bearing the sin and judgment of the whole world.

Many of the authors quoted in the book mentioned above stressed the need to think more of death, dying, and heaven, not less. Not that we become morbid, but we remind ourselves that’s our ultimate end.

The Bible does say “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26). It is an enemy. But it has lost its sting, and Jesus has gained victory over it: “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

Jesus took on flesh “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Therefore, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

Whether death is near or far away, may His victory, His presence, and the home He is preparing for us deliver us from that fear.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
into the joy and light of Thy home,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

William T. Sleeper

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

Why Ask People to Pray?

Posted on October 11, 2026 by Barbara Harper

As I sat in the hospital last week, discouraged over a large and stubborn case of cellulitis that didn’t seem to be budging, I felt it was time to ask for prayer more publicly. I had emailed a few friends when the situation began. But now I felt I needed to share the burden a bit further.

And then I asked myself why.

Did I think prayer was more likely to be answered the more people prayed? Was prayer a spiritual vote?

Well, no, it doesn’t work like that. God sometimes says no despite prayers from all over the globe.

Did I feel other people might have more faith than I did?

In my low moments, a little. When the paralytic’s friends brought him to Jesus for healing, mention is made of their faith, not his. (Luke 5:17-26).

However, Jesus said we only need faith the size of a mustard seed.

Yet somehow, we’re helped when others pray: “We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again while you join in helping us by your prayers” (2 Corinthians 1:10-11, CSB).

We are told all through Scripture to pray for each other. Paul’s epistles give many examples of specific ways to pray. So it is right to ask for prayer from brothers and sisters in Christ.

Others’ prayers help us to rejoice: “Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance” (Philippians 1:18-19).

Others’ prayers draw our hearts together: “And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you” (2 Corinthians 9:14).

Others’ prayers expand thanksgiving to God: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:11).

Others’ prayers help us in our struggles: “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf” (Romans 15:30).

Of course, asking others to pray is not just about getting my desired outcome. I cringe at language like “storming the gates of heaven,” as if we can force God to do our will. He’s more concerned with conforming us to His will.

Sometimes God says no to one request to provide for a greater need. Sometimes He wants us to learn humility and patience while waiting in prayer or to grow our faith. Fellowshiping with others in prayer helps with those aspects, too.

Whether I pray in person with others or they answer an email or text to tell me what they are praying, my heart is touched first by the fact that they care about me as a sister in Christ, even if they don’t know me well. Then I am instructed as they pray for aspects of the situation or have a perspective of it that I hadn’t thought of. I am amazed that another’s prayer can sometimes reflect a depth of understanding of the need far beyond what I shared. I don’t know whether that comes from their spiritual maturity, or the Holy Spirit’s leading in prayer, or both. I am also encouraged by sharing the load a bit with others.

Sometimes it’s hard to know when to ask others to pray and how much to share. I had an acquaintance years ago who almost could not say anything to anyone without asking for prayer. I was never quite sure if that was a good thing or not. But we can ask for God’s leading even in this. Whether we share with one other person, or a group, or everyone we know, God can use us in each other’s lives through the ministry of prayer.

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

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.