BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

You’ve been trying to make something work, but you’ve been failing. No matter how hard you try, no matter what you’ve done, it’s simply not working. It hasn’t happened and you’re losing hope of it ever happening now.

Hopeless is a hard place to be. Hopeless can be a dangerous place to be. Hopeless can also be a miraculous place to be.

When it’s humanly impossible, you’ll know without a doubt it was God who made it happen. When there’s no way it could have been you, you’ll know exactly who deserves the glory. When all hope is gone and the impossible happens, you’ll know it was never your doing. It was God’s. And sometimes God lets it get to the point where you can’t take the credit for what He’s about to do.

Maybe that’s where you’re at – you’re at the point where God is going to do something and you will KNOW it was him. It wasn’t you – it wasn’t your hard work – it wasn’t your idea – it wasn’t your willpower or your tenacity – and it certainly wasn’t good luck – You’re going to know it’s GOD!

How do you align yourself for a work of God? When is the optimal time for God to show up? How do you get in on what he is doing? Well we’re going to read about a miraculous fishing trip to find our answers.

Luke 5: 1-11:

One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Here we see a miracle of Jesus making something work that had not worked before. We see Jesus doing something in a way that was no doubt his power at work. A miraculous haul of fish for fishermen who had fished the entire night and caught nothing. And here in this story, we get our directive on how to be part of the miraculous with Jesus.

Notice the timing for the miracle. This came after a hard night of fishing on the Sea of Galilee where they didn’t catch a thing. Nothing. They had failed. And understand, these men were professional fishermen. They weren’t out fishing for fun – they were fishing for survival. This is how they fed their families. Their future depended on catching fish. They knew how to catch fish and they knew if the fish were there, they would have caught them. They simply weren’t there. No matter what they did, they couldn’t catch any fish that night.

Now, it was morning and they were washing their nets. Let me tell you something, that’s not a fun job. It’s one thing to wash nets when you’ve had success, but it feels like a complete waste of time when you’ve caught nothing. They must have been frustrated. Maybe they were even worried about money because they certainly hadn’t made any with their empty nets and boats.

And that’s when Jesus says the timing for a miracle is right. That’s when Jesus knows his power will not be denied.

The perfect timing for a miracle is when nothing else has worked. The perfect timing for a miracle is when all hope is gone. When the boat is empty, the nets are empty and you have nothing to show for a whole lot of hard work – that’s when God knows he will get all the glory.

Are you there right now? Yes, in this place of desperation you didn’t want to be in. In this place where everything has been harder than you ever imagined. In this place where you fought so hard to NOT be. Oh Sis, this may be the grounds for a miracle move by God himself! LOOK FOR HIM HERE!

After disappointment and failure, in their monotonous work of cleaning their nets is where Jesus encounters them. He doesn’t show up with a bunch of fish, he shows up with an ask. A request. Jesus asks to use their boat.

They must have been tired after working all night. We know they were discouraged. There’s a chance they were even worried. But when this man asks if he can get on their boat with them so he can teach this crowd of people gathered, they said yes. They didn’t know this man was the Savior of the world. They didn’t know he was the Messiah. They certainly didn’t know he was about to radically change their lives forever.

But they said yes. The miracle God has for you will always begin with your willingless to let Jesus get in your boat. To let him into your disappointment. To let him into your exhaustion. To let him into the very place where you’ve been working so hard and seeing so little return. Before Jesus filled their boats with fish, they made room for him in their boats.

And maybe that’s your miracle move today, girl. Maybe it’s not another frantic attempt to make something happen. Maybe it’s not another late night of trying harder, figuring it out, or forcing a door open. Maybe it’s simply saying, “Jesus, you can have this. You can have my empty boat, my failed attempts, my tired heart, and my plans that haven’t worked. Get in. I’ll make room for you.”

The filling was his job. The invitation was theirs.

What if the very place where you’ve experienced your greatest disappointment becomes the place where you experience God’s greatest demonstration of power? What if the thing you’ve been trying so hard to fix becomes the very thing through which God reveals himself to you? What if your empty nets aren’t the end of your story, but the beginning of a miracle you couldn’t have orchestrated if you tried?

Now, with Jesus in their boat, he teaches – they listen. And after he finished teaching, he says to them, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

These fishermen knew that was ridiculous. They had already tried that water. And they had already washed those nets. However, there was a single decision that changed the trajectory of their lives and here it was – “BUT IF YOU SAY SO – I’ll let the nets down again.”

Jesus, if you say so, I’ll try this again. If you say so, I’ll go back out to the place it didn’t work and I’ll try again. If you say so, I’ll do it – even when it doesn’t make sense – even when I’m tired – even when I’m frustrated – even when I think it’s kinda crazy.

BUT IF YOU SAY SO – I’ll do it.

There’s your miracle move, girl. Make room for Jesus, then do what he says. Could that be your prayer of surrender today? Jesus, if you say so, I’ll do it. I’ll go. I’ll try again. I’ll listen. I’ll obey.

And here’s what happened this time when they drop the nets because JESUS SAID SO – “This time, their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!” Both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

From no fish to two boats overflowing with fish. From nothing in the nets to the nets tearing because a massive amount of fish all swam directly into those nets at just the right time.

And imagine Jesus for a moment. Imagine him sitting on this sinking boat with all these fish just smiling saying, “Yip, I did that – and this is just the beginning, boys!”

Jesus saw some ordinary men who were willing to listen to him – willing to do things that didn’t make sense – and willing to give him credit for doing what only he could do. And now he has an invitation for them – an invitation to follow him.

Would you follow Jesus if he said, “Come?” Would you go? What an exciting adventure that would be – Yes, Jesus, I’m in! But let me tell you, sometimes following Jesus costs you something. It’s not always an easy yes. It’s an uncomfortable yes. It’s a shaky yes. It’s a yes when you don’t know where he’s taking you or what he’s going to ask of you next. It’s a yes that may require you to leave behind what feels safe, what feels familiar, and what you’ve worked your whole life to build.

Because look at what happened next. These men had just experienced the biggest fishing haul of their lives. Their boats were overflowing. Their nets were breaking. This was the kind of catch every fisherman dreamed of! This was retirement money. This was the jackpot. This was fame. And right when they had more than they could have imagined, Jesus invited them to leave it all behind and follow him.

And they did.

These fishermen became the disciples we read about. They were the men who walked with Jesus here on earth. The ones who got to witness his miracles first hand and be part of them. The ones who Jesus trusted to continue his work after the cross.

But in this moment, they were tired fishermen who had just been blessed with the catch of a lifetime and then asked to walk away from it all. Not only walk away from the fish, but walk away from their nets and their boats. Their source of income. Their livlihood. Their plans for the future. Everything they ever knew.

And here’s the wild thing – they did! It says, “They left everything and followed Jesus.”

That’s how Jesus knew he had the right people. They were willing to leave everything and follow him.

Does he know that about you? Would you be willing to leave the big house? Would you be willing to leave your current job? How about your current location?

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO LEAVE THE BLESSING TO FOLLOW THE ONE WHO BLESSED YOU?

My friend, I’ve been stuck before – stuck in all that God has given me and missing what he’s calling me to. The best thing I ever did was drop it, walk away and dare to follow Jesus where he was leading me next. Was it scary? YES! Was it devestating to our business? No doubt! Was it worth it? Well, I’m never turning back!

Are you willing to follow Jesus when it means letting go of something you love? Are you willing to trust him when you can’t see the whole picture? Are you willing to say yes to the next step even when you don’t know what the next ten steps will be?

Sometimes we’re so focused on asking Jesus to fill our boats that we miss the greater invitation to follow him. We want the miracle, but Jesus wants our hearts. We want him to change our circumstances, but he wants to change our lives. We want the blessing, but he wants us to discover that the greatest blessing is being with him.

God doesn’t need you to have it all figured out. He needs you to be willing to follow where he leads.

Your miracle may begin with an empty boat, but don’t be surprised if it ends with a whole new life.

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We may not understand the story we’re living today. But we haven’t reached the end of the story yet. God’s not finished writing the story of your life – chapter by chapter, it’s still unfolding and God knows exactly how he will divinely guide those chapters to his glorious ending.

Life is so hard to understand. Our highs are often followed by lows. We’re celebrating, then we’re crying. We’re believing for a breakthrough, then we’re battling disappointment. We’re making plans, then everything changes. One minute we’re thanking God for the beautiful story he’s writing, and the next we’re questioning if he’s even holding the pen.

God, where are you in this? Life just got interrupted by an unexpected disaster or disappointment – but what you can’t see is this is the very thing God is using to redirect you. He faithfully protects you from chapters you were never meant to live. His delays are divine. His detours often get you to places you could have never reached on your own.

Yesterday we read about Jesus healing the Roman officer’s faith in the authority of Jesus and as a result, Jesus healed his servant and saved him on his death bed. Yay! Big celebration. We LOVE that! Yay for healing! Yay for happy endings!

But as Jesus continues on his way with his disciples, this celebration party meets a mourning people. A collision of joy and grief meet head on. The life of a Roman soldier’s servant has been saved, but the life of a boy has been lost. All at the same time. And so they collide in God’s mysterious ways.

Let’s read the story – Luke 7, beginning in verse 11, “Soon afterward (remember this is soon after Jesus healed the servant), Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. (The crowd is following because they’re celebrating the miracle they just saw Jesus perform.) A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion.”

Understand, this woman hadn’t only lost her child, but she had lost her entire future. She was already a widow, having lost her husband at some point, but now she’s lost her only son. Without a husband or a son, this woman was without hope.

In that culture, her son wasn’t just someone she loved deeply. He was her provision, her protection, and the one who would have cared for her as she grew older. With his death, she was facing a future she could not have imagined and certainly had not planned for. Her life had been interrupted by a heartbreak she could not fix, change, or undo. And it’s funeral day – the final goodbye. Imagine how deep the mourning must have been.

But the procession is interrupted by Jesus. The crowd following Jesus was still in celebration and here the collide with grief and desperation.

This woman wasn’t searching for Jesus, but Jesus found her. He found her in her grief. She wasn’t chasing a miracle. She wasn’t making a bold declaration of faith. She really wasn’t even asking for help. She was simply walking through the most devastating moment of her life and JESUS SAW HER. Yes, he saw her and his heart overflowed with compassion.

Did you know even when you aren’t happy and joyful and believing in the absolute goodness of God, Jesus sees you. He’s moved by your hurt. He’s shaken by your pain. And he wants to do something about this! He wants to interrupt the funeral procession of the thing that’s died within you. The thing that’s too far gone – the thing that’s beyond hope – the thing that just can’t be fixed or changed – Jesus wants to show up right in the middle of that with his interruption.

Let’s keep reading, picking back up in verse 13: “‘Don’t cry!’ he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. ‘Young man,’ he said, ‘I tell you, get up.’ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.”

Can you imagine that moment? One minute, she’s walking toward the burial of her only son. The next, she’s watching him sit up alive. One minute, she’s facing a future filled with grief and uncertainty. The next, she’s holding the son she thought she’d lost forever.

The funeral procession was interrupted by the Author of Life.

Now, I want you to see something here. The crowd was still celebrating yesterday’s miracle while this woman was burying her greatest heartbreak. Both stories were unfolding at the same time. One family was rejoicing, another was grieving. One was experiencing the goodness of God in a way they could see, while the other was walking through a darkness they couldn’t understand.

And isn’t that just like life? Sometimes we’re the ones celebrating the miracle, and sometimes we’re the ones following the funeral procession. Sometimes we can see God’s goodness so clearly, and sometimes all we can see is what we’ve lost.

But here’s what I love about Jesus: He is just as present in the funeral procession as he is in the celebration party. Wherever you are, he’s right there with you. He will interrupt your party, he will interrupt your funeral, he will interrupt your joy and he will interrupt your depression. Look for him. Wherever you are – look for him.

Your heartbreak does not make you invisible to him. Your unanswered prayers do not mean he’s stopped caring. And the fact that you cannot yet see how God could possibly bring anything good from your circumstances doesn’t mean he’s absent from your story.

Not every funeral procession turns around in this lifetime. But this story reveals something we can hold on to: Jesus sees our pain, his heart is moved with compassion, and even death itself is not beyond his authority. If God can give this little boy life again, don’t you think God can do the impossible in your situation?

Here’s what hit my heart today – there’s someone listening who is in torment wondering if their loved one made it to Heaven. Before their final breath, you were uncertain of their faith, uncertain of their salvation, uncertain of their eternal destination. You’ve asked God for a sign to be sure, and maybe you’re still waiting on that sign.

Well, I want you to see this story and understand God’s ability to interrupt time and radically change the outcome. If Jesus could breath life back into a boy at his own funeral, don’t you think he also has the ability to extend the final breath of the life of your loved one, reveal himself, and bring them to faith and salvation in a moment of suspended time allowing the soul work that hadn’t yet been done?

Is that beyond God’s ability? I think not! 2 Peter 3:9 says the Lord “is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

God can interrupt our life – and he can also interrupt our death. He can be the cause of our celebration and be the source of our strength in our deepest grief.

If your life has been interrupted by something you never would have chosen, don’t believe the lie that God has abandoned you in this chapter. You may not understand what he’s doing. You may not see a way forward. You may even be standing in the middle of something that feels like the end. But the Author of Life is still present in your story.

And sometimes, when you think you’re watching everything come to an end, Jesus is about to show you something about himself you’ve never seen before.

Lord, for my sister listening today who feels like this is just the end – the end of everything worth living for, the end of all she worked for, the end of her dreams, the end of her joy – Show her how you’re working on something she’s never seen before. Interrupt her grief – interrupt her anxiety – interrupt her depression – interrupt her overwhelm with YOUR POWER.

My Bible is filled with all sorts of notes. On the page of Luke 7 where this story of the widow’s son is, I have a yellow sticky note which says “Look up the story of the poet who wrote ‘God Works In Mysterious Ways’.

Today, I actually looked it up! God Works in Mysterious Ways is a song written in the 1700’s by a poet named William Cowper. William was friends with the poet who wrote the song “Amazing Grace”. They’re basically cousin songs.

Williwma Cowper was a talented poet who was plagued with chronic depression. On several different occasions, he tried to end his life. He hired a carriage driver to take him to the river where he planned to drown himself, but the driver was perpetually lost and couldn’t find the river. Then he planned to go to a river again to drown himself, but when he got there, there was no water in the riverbed. And another time, planning to end his life, he gets to the bank of the river and someone is standing in the exact spot where he was going to enter the water.

Over and over again, he was interrupted and his life was saved.

GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS. Here are the words of his song:

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;

He plants His footsteps in the sea

And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never failing skill

He treasures up His bright designs

And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy and shall break

In blessings on your head.

William Cowper couldn’t see the whole story. In his darkest moments, he couldn’t imagine the hymns he would write, the lives his words would touch, or the hope his story would offer generations of believers. He could only see the pain of the chapter he was living.

And that’s the thing about living in the middle of your story: you can only see what’s happening now. God sees what’s happening next.

You may be frustrated by the interruption, confused by the change of plans, or heartbroken over how a chapter has unfolded. But don’t assume God has abandoned the story just because you don’t understand the plot.

God is still working. He’s still guiding. He’s still redeeming. And even when you can’t trace his hand, you can trust his heart.

Sometimes God’s greatest kindness isn’t letting us get where we were determined to go. Sometimes it’s interrupting our plans because he sees what we cannot see.

Your story isn’t over. God is still writing. And the chapter you’re struggling to understand today may one day become part of the testimony that helps someone else keep believing.

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There’s one thing you can do today that impresses Jesus. That one thing is your faith in him. Faith that he will do what he says he will do. Faith that he can do it. Faith that his word changes everything. Faith that he cares enough to move personally for you.

Your faith is impressive to Jesus. And your faith in him beckons his power. Faith acts like a magnet to his miracles.

Do you want to draw his miraculous power into your life and see him working all around you? Start believing he can and start speaking like he will. Instead of talking about how bad your circumstances are, begin talking about how powerful your God is. Instead of posting about your problems, pray about your problems and post about his promises.

Let me tell you something, Jesus responds to your faith. 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him.” He’s looking for your heart of faith, he’s listening for your words of faith, and when he finds you standing in faith, he personally shows himself strong to you. What does it mean when God shows himself strong – it means he unleashes his miracle working power in your life!

He’s looking – his eyes are roaming – will he find your heart devoted to him? Will he find your mind and mouth filled with faith? If so – get ready to see just how strong your God is! Get ready to see him show up for you. Get ready to see him working in every detail, working all things together for good!

And here’s what I want you to understand, sister: faith doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful. It doesn’t have to be complicated to catch the attention of Jesus. It simply has to trust him.

Trust him when the circumstances don’t make sense.

Trust him when the answer hasn’t come.

Trust him when all you have is his word and a whole lot of reasons to doubt.

Faith says, “Jesus, I don’t have to see how you’re going to do it. I just know that you can!” And that’s exactly the kind of faith that catches the attention of Jesus.

In Luke 7, we’re about to meet a man who understood something remarkable about the authority of Jesus. He didn’t need Jesus to show up in person. He didn’t need to see a miracle in progress. He believed Jesus could simply speak the word, and it would be done.

Oh, girl, what if we started trusting Jesus like that? What if we stopped putting limits on how he can work and started believing in the authority of his word? What if our mouth got filled with faith? Let’s look at the faith of a Roman officer that left Jesus amazed!

Here’s what’s happening in the story – A servant of a Roman officer was very sick and near death. When the Roman officer heard that Jesus was passing through and he had been healing the sick and doing all sorts of miracles, he sent some elders to find Jesus and ask him to come heal his servant. When the elders reached Jesus and asked him to come to heal this sick servant, Jesus agreed and went with them. Just before they got to the house, the Roman officer sent out some friends and said, (verse 6-10) “‘Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.”

This man didn’t have to understand how Jesus would heal his servant – he didn’t even have to see it for himself – he just truly believed Jesus held the power to speak healing, even from a distance, and it would happen. This is the faith that impressed Jesus. Jesus was literally “amazed”.

Girls, let’s amaze Jesus with our faith today. Let’s stop rehearsing all the reasons things won’t work out and start remembering all the reasons we serve a God who can make a way! Let’s stop telling God how big our problems are and start telling our problems how big our God is! Let’s stop requiring Jesus to show us how he’s going to do it before we decide to trust him.

We don’t need to know HOW he’s going to work. We need to know WHO we’re trusting! I’m trusting Jesus today – how about you? (Let your mouth speak your faith!)

I’m trusting that he alone can do what I need done. He alone can heal. He alone can provide. He alone can restore. He alone can make a way. And he can do it absolutely any way he wants to. He can speak a word from a distance, and it will happen. He can show up in my living room at 3:05 pm, and it will happen. He can divinely rearrange things, he can change things, he can remove things, create things, rewrite things. He can do impossible things and make them look ridiculously ordinary and inconspicuous. He can do it in an impressive, undeniable way – or he can remove it before I even knew the threat of it.

That’s my Jesus and I believe he can.

Impressive faith. Amazing faith. Faith that doesn’t require it to be your way – faith that doesn’t demand an explanation – faith that doesn’t even have to see Jesus himself – faith that says, “Hey Jesus, if you just speak the word wayyyyy before you even get to my house, I know things will change in my house!”

That Roman officer understood authority. He knew that when someone with authority gave an order, things happened. And he recognized that Jesus carried an authority far greater than any earthly commander. He believed Jesus didn’t need to be physically present, lay a hand on his servant, or even enter his home. Jesus could simply SPEAK, and the sickness had to bow to his authority!

Oh, sister, do you believe that about Jesus? Do you believe his word still carries authority? That he is still the same Jesus who spoke and the sick were healed, the storms grew quiet, the blind could see, and the dead came back to life? Your circumstances may be beyond your control, but they are never beyond his authority!

Somebody needs to speak to their circumstances in faith today. Somebody needs to have a mouth full of faith today. Somebody needs to say, “Circumstances, you may be beyond my control, but you are NOT beyond the authority of my Jesus. You must change when he says to change. You must obey his command.” And then, you must stand in faith KNOWING that Jesus has the final word. Not your fear. Not your diagnosis. Not your bank account. Not your past. Not somebody else’s opinion. Not the circumstances staring you in the face. JESUS HAS THE FINAL WORD!

And until he speaks, you keep trusting. Until you see the answer, keep believing. Until the door opens, keep praying. Because your faith isn’t in what you see happening around you. Your faith is in the One who has all authority over it!



Now, let me be clear: faith isn’t a formula for getting God to do whatever we want. We don’t get to dictate how he answers, when he moves, or what the outcome will be. But we CAN trust his character, stand on his Word, and believe that nothing is too hard for him. Even when his answer looks different than we expected, he is still good, still present, and still worthy of our faith.

So today, let’s stop living like we’re waiting for proof before we believe. Let’s start living like women who know WHOSE hands hold our lives!

I know who’s holding me. I know who’s guiding me. I know who’s responsible for getting me here. I know who healed me. I know who blessed me. Come on girls, LET’S TALK ABOUT IT TODAY! Let’s talk about our Jesus! Let’s put our faith into words and speak it!

Jesus was impressed when he HEARD what the Roman officer SAID. Yes, Jesus is listening – let him hear your faith spoken.

Speak his promises. Pray with expectation. Take the next step in obedience. And when fear starts telling you all the reasons it won’t happen, remind yourself of all the reasons Jesus can be trusted.

Your job is not to figure out the miracle. Your job is to trust the Miracle Worker!

And here’s my question for you today: What situation have you been talking about with fear instead of bringing to him in faith? What if today you decided to say, just like that Roman officer, “Jesus, I believe in your authority. You don’t even have to say it twice. Just say the word! I don’t have to see you in my living room. You don’t have to come to my house to make it happen. Your authority over me, my life, my people, and every single circumstance surrounding me is under your divine authority. When you speak, anything and everything can change. Speak for me, Lord.”

Let’s be women whose faith says, “Jesus, I trust you with what I can see, and I trust you with what I can’t. I believe you can, I believe you care, and I believe your Word is true. I’m going to keep believing, keep praying, and keep following you, even before I see the answer.” Let your mouth be full of faith!

Now THAT is the kind of faith that gets the attention of Jesus!

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Is Jesus our healer? Absolutely? Is any sickness, any disease, or any disability out of his reach and beyond his power? No – nothing. Not even death.

But, here’s what we often miss – there’s something even greater to be healed of. Something more important. Something much bigger. Have we forgotten that Jesus healed us of our SIN?

We know the affects of cancer. We know the affects of diabetes. We know the affects of migraine headaches and chronic pain. We know what it looks like when a body is broken, when a diagnosis changes everything, when someone we love is suffering and we would give anything to see them made well.

And we absolutely should pray for healing! We should believe Jesus has the power to heal. We should ask boldly, trust deeply, and never underestimate what our God can do.

But, Sis, can we talk about the sickness that is far more deadly than anything that can happen to our physical bodies? The sickness of sin.

Because cancer can take a body, but sin separates us from God. Disease can rob us of years on this earth, but sin threatens something far greater than our earthly years. Physical suffering is real and heart-breaking. But our greatest problem has never been what is wrong with our bodies. It’s what sin has done to our souls.

And here’s the miracle: Jesus didn’t just come to make sick bodies well. He came to save our souls for all eternity!

He came to rescue us from the power of sin, to forgive what we could never undo, to restore what we could never repair, and to reconcile us to God. He didn’t just come to give us a better life here. He came to give us eternal life with Him.

If we’re talking about the miracles of Jesus, let’s talk about the greatest miracle of all-time. HE COVERS US. HE MAKES US HOLY. HE CREDITS US AS RIGHTEOUS. OUR SINS ARE COMPLETELY FORGIVEN.

Isaiah 53:5 tells us, “By his wounds we are healed.” Healed of sickness – yes, sometimes. My life is proof of that. Healed of physical pain – yes, I’ve seen it, I know it’s true. But Jesus’ wounds healed something much more than just our bodies – By his wounds our SOULS are healed. Our souls are no longer bound by all we could never get right, and we are free from the punishment we deserve.

Oh, girl, do you understand the magnitude of that miracle?

The woman who couldn’t stop bleeding needed healing. The blind man who couldn’t see needed healing. The leper who was cast out needed healing. And Jesus met them with compassion and power. But every single one of us has a need we cannot fix on our own. We have all sinned. We have all fallen short. And no amount of good deeds, hard work, religious check boxes, or trying harder can erase our sin.

We don’t just need a healer for our bodies. We need a Savior for our souls. And that’s exactly who Jesus is!

We are healed from within FOREVER. If we only ever get one miracle, let it be that one! Let it be righteousness through Jesus. Let it be the healing of your soul. Let it be the forgiveness of every sin. Let it be the promise of eternity in Heaven where sin will never enter, sickness will never return and absolute perfection will reign.

That’s the miracle of Jesus. And girls, do you realize WE ALREADY HAVE IT! We’re already walking around with the greatest miracle of all time. It’s already ours!

As we study the miracles of Jesus and we see his power in these very personal encounters, it’s easy to wonder why you may still be left with a limp, or a tumor, or a disease. Why is my body still un-whole? Where’s my miracle?

The miracle is that the creator of the Universe sent his perfect son to literally die to save you. AND IT WORKED. His blood worked for you. THAT’S YOUR MIRACLE!!!!!

And while you walk it out here in your everyday life on earth, you may not fully understand it – but I assure you the moment your eyes open in Heaven and you take your first step in eternity, you will understand what an absolute miracle it is that you were chosen for it!

Lord, forgive us for thinking you’ve never done a miracle for us – The biggest miracle of all time has my name and the girl’s name who is listening right NOW all over it! It was always for us. Specifically, personally, individually, divinely for us.

The miracle of forgiveness. The miracle of righteousness. The miracle of redemption. The miracle of being fully known by God and fully loved by God. The miracle of having your past forgiven, your present filled with His presence, and your future secured for all eternity.

Sis, WHERE’S YOUR MIRACLE? It’s right here! It’s in you! It’s already been done!

In Mark 2, we see the faith of four friends tear the roof off a house to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus. They desperately wanted their friend healed and they knew Jesus held the power to make him walk. So, when they find the crowd is so big in and around the house that they can’t get their friend to Jesus, they tear the roof off, and lower the man down on his mat directly in front of Jesus.

Wow – I have a few friends like that and it’s changed my life. They continually bring me to Jesus. And if I won’t walk there myself, they will carry me.

But do you know what Jesus does before helping this man to walk? HE FORGIVES HIS SINS.

Verse 5, “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.'”

That’s the biggest miracle. Don’t skip over that just to get to the part where the paralyzed man is able to walk – dwell in the part where the imperfect man is made perfect through faith. Dwell in the part where his sins are forgiven, his punishment is canceled, and he’s made forever good enough for Heaven.

If we would carry our friends to Jesus for healing of a disease or sickness, then why in the world aren’t we carrying our friends to Jesus for healing of their souls that much more? Why aren’t we relentlessly pursuing Jesus for their sins to be forgiven? Will you tear the roof off for their salvation, or just for their cancer to be gone?

I’m going to be honest with you – I would love for every one of you to live out your days in a healthy, strong beautiful physical body – but there’s something I want so much more for you – I want your sins to be forgiven, for the chains to be broken, for everything the enemy ever tried to lay on you to be released from you, and for you to walk to totally FREE all the way straight to Heaven.

I want THAT MIRACLE FOR YOU. And I’ll show up every day telling you about Jesus, every day carrying your mat, every day tearing the roof off, just so that you get that miracle.

You may still be waiting on a diagnosis to change, a body to heal, a pain to disappear, or a loved one to be restored. Keep praying, girl. Keep believing. Keep asking Jesus for the things that seem impossible. He is still our healer, and nothing is beyond His power.

But don’t let the miracle you’re still waiting for blind you to the miracle you’ve already received.

You are not forgotten. You are not overlooked. You are not a girl Jesus passed by while He was handing out miracles to everyone else. If you have put your faith in Jesus, you have received the greatest gift imaginable. Your sin has been dealt with at the cross. Your debt has been paid. Your eternity has been changed.

And one day, when you stand in the presence of Jesus, every question that seemed so big here on earth will be swallowed up in the wonder of being with Him. Every tear will be wiped away. Every pain will be gone. And you will finally see the full beauty of the salvation He purchased for you.

So the next time you find yourself asking, “Jesus, where’s my miracle?” I want you to remember the cross. Look at what He endured to bring you home to God. Look at the price He paid to forgive your sin. Look at the grave He walked out of so death would not have the final word.

THAT’S YOUR MIRACLE, GIRL! And nobody can ever take that away from you!

Let’s stop living like girls who are waiting for God to prove He loves us. The cross has already declared His love. Let’s stop believing we’re the ones who got overlooked. Jesus went to the cross for us. Let’s stop measuring God’s goodness only by what He changes around us and start celebrating what He has already changed within us.

We are forgiven. We are redeemed. We are made righteous through Jesus. And we have a hope that stretches far beyond anything this world can offer.

Now THAT is a miracle worth waking up and celebrating every single day!

Jesus, forgive us for the times we’ve been so focused on the miracle we want that we’ve overlooked the miracle You’ve already given us. Forgive us for measuring Your goodness by whether our circumstances change, instead of remembering what You have already done to save us.

Thank You for the cross. Thank You for Your blood that paid the price for our sin. Thank You that we don’t have to earn our way into Your presence, fix ourselves before we come to You, or live forever under the weight of our past. Through You, we are forgiven, made new, and given the promise of eternal life.

Our greatest miracle has already been made possible through You.

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Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Have you ever felt like maybe you’re bothering God with your prayers? Like perhaps at this point you’re just annoying with your needs and requests? And maybe you feel ignored or overlooked. Like you’re not worthy or important enough for God to stop everything just for you.

Oh girl, let me tell you something – God will stop everything JUST FOR YOU. You’re that important to him, that valuable, that seen, that known, that heard, and that loved.

GOD IS NOT TOO BUSY FOR YOU. YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN TO YOUR SAVIOR.

Have you ever noticed in the gospels during the early stages of Jesus’ ministry, he would perform a personal miracle for one person and he would instruct them, “don’t tell anyone about this.” That always confused me. Why wouldn’t Jesus want them to tell everyone about his miracles and his power? Why wouldn’t he want the news to spread about who he was?

Wasn’t that the whole point? Spread the news. Tell everyone. But instead, many times we see Jesus telling the healed to keep it secret. Why is that?

Well, I experienced it first hand this past Saturday night at the BIG Life Retreat. Fame brings a crowd. Crowds are hard to navigate. You can’t get anywhere when everyone knows who you are!

Picture this – 25 BIG Life girls all decked out as Dolly Parton. So much hair. So much fringe, rhinestones and sparkles. So much lipstick and balloons strategically placed. We walked the main strip of Gatlinburg, Tennessee as a pack, and the crowds swarmed. Cameras were everywhere. Cars were honking. People lined up for photos.

We got all of 1 block down the strip in a matter of 2 hours. “Dollys, over here – Dollys, wait for us – Dollys, we want a photo too – Dollys, my little girl wants to meet you.” WE. WERE. FAMOUS.

And in this moment, I understood why Jesus would tell the very people he had healed, “don’t tell anyone about this.” If Jesus were really known, if everyone knew he was God in human form, he would never get anywhere. The crowds would be so big and so overwhelming, that he would be bombarded.

Jesus had a mission. He had divine appointments with places to be, miracles to perform, and people to bring along. The crowds would be a hindrance to his mission. Although he was God, he was fully human as Jesus. He required rest. He required refueling. He required quiet time with the Father. Hoards of people shouting his name, circling in for his touch would become unmanageable.

Trust me, this 6 foot tall Dolly got a little taste of it. It was insanely fun for 2 hours, but taking off the wig and popping the balloons brought a welcome return to a quiet life of obscurity.

Jesus was not obscure. The word was spreading. He would perform a miracle for a soul in need whom he met along his journey, instruct them not to tell anyone, but they would be so alive in their healing that they would run out and tell everyone they knew about this man who radically changed their life. The man who gave them sight. The man who made them walk. The man who freed them from their demons.

So now there are crowds. Crowds following Jesus. Crowds shouting his name. Crowds pressing in. Crowds making it hard for Jesus to get where he was going. So many people. So many needs. So many requests.

What if there was one in the crowd who felt their need wasn’t worthy of Jesus? What if there was one in the crowd who felt like a nobody, who had suffered quietly, who had been excluded for so long they became accustom to not being good enough? What would Jesus do for them in the crowd?

Let’s see! In Mark 5, Jesus is being followed by a large crowd. An important man has interrupted Jesus begging for him to come to his house and heal his daughter who was dying. So, Jesus is going with this man. A little girl is dying, Jesus is going.

The crowd follows. They’re pressing in on him. Making it hard for him to move forward. (Again, in my 2 hours as Dolly Parton in downtown Gatlinburg, I understand the pressures of the crowd. If a cheap imitation of Dolly gets that much attention, imagine how much the real Savior of the world got!)

Jesus is needed in another place. He’s on his way to somewhere very important. The life of this man’s daughter depends on him getting there, and him getting there fast. But in this crowd is a woman who had been suffering. A woman who felt unworthy of being personally seen. A woman who dared to just reach for Jesus as he passed by.

And Jesus stopped everything. When she reached for him, he stopped. In the crowd, he stopped for the one who reached for him.

Let’s read it together beginning in verse 25, reading through 34:

“A woman in the crowd had suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, ‘If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.’ Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.”

“Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my robe?’ His disciples said to him, ‘Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, your suffering is over.'”

In this day, when a woman was bleeding, she was considered unclean. As unclean, she couldn’t attend worship, she couldn’t attend celebrations, she couldn’t touch others. She had not only been suffering physically for 12 years, she had been suffering emotionally. So she showed up desperate in the crowd that day and she reached for Jesus.

And Jesus knew the difference between a touch of just someone in the crowd who brushed up against him and a touch from a reach of faith. A reach of faith released his power and this woman was immediately healed. Her 12 year problem was gone in an instant as a result of her reach of faith and the release of his power.

AND JESUS STOPPED. He didn’t have to stop. He could have kept walking. Remember, he was going somewhere important. A little girl was dying and he was on his way to her house to heal her. But he stopped and he searched for the one who had reached out in faith. He acknowledged her. He made time for her. He showed her she was worthy of his healing. She was important.

JESUS HAS TIME FOR YOU. HE’S NOT TOO BUSY FOR YOU. HE’S NOT GOING TO JUST PASS BY YOU WHEN YOU REACH OUT TO HIM IN FAITH.

GIRL, REACH FOR HIM! He will stop for you – he will stop everything for you – you’re worth stopping for!

No matter how long this situation has been unchanged and only getting worse, Jesus can change everything. No matter how many people have told you it’s pointless, no matter how many times you’ve tried and failed, no matter how long you’ve been waiting for your breakthrough, DON’T YOU DARE GIVE UP REACHING FOR JESUS!

This woman had suffered for 12 years. Twelve years of pain. Twelve years of disappointment. Twelve years of spending money on solutions that didn’t work. Twelve years of watching life happen around her while she was forced to live on the outside of it. And then, in one moment, everything changed.

Sis, what if your next moment with Jesus changes everything for you, too?

I’m not promising you that Jesus will answer every prayer in the exact way you want or on the timeline you’ve chosen. But I am reminding you that your suffering does not make you invisible to Him. Your long wait does not make you forgotten. Your repeated prayers do not make you annoying. And your need does not make you a burden.

YOU ARE WORTH STOPPING FOR.

You don’t have to compete with the crowd for His attention. You don’t have to make your problems sound more important than someone else’s. You don’t have to clean yourself up before you come to Him. You don’t have to apologize for needing Him again.

Come to Him tired. Come to Him disappointed. Come to Him with the same prayer you’ve prayed a hundred times before. Come to Him when your faith feels strong, and come to Him when all you’ve got left is a trembling hand reaching through the crowd.

JUST REACH FOR JESUS.

So today, stop disqualifying yourself from the attention of your Savior. Stop deciding your needs aren’t important enough to bring to Him. Stop believing the lie that He’s too busy with bigger things to care about the details of your life.

He is the God who holds the universe together, and He is also the God who sees one hurting woman reaching for Him in a crowd. That’s how personal His love is.

GIRL, YOU ARE WORTH STOPPING FOR! You are not an interruption to Jesus. You are not too needy for Jesus. You are not too far gone for Jesus.

——-

And remember this, carrier of the Holy Spirit, one who is called to do the same things Jesus did – STOP FOR PEOPLE. MAKE TIME FOR THEM! Don’t allow yourself to be so rushed that you can’t stop for someone who needs the Jesus you have inside of you.

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Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com