BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

This is the final of the trilogy of stories Jesus tells to explain the worth of a single soul to God. We had the Parable of the Lost Sheep where the shepherd leaves the 99 to find the 1 who has been lost. We had the Parable of the Lost Coin of the woman who has 10 coins, but when she loses 1 she looks relentlessly until it’s found. Notice the numbers – 1 out of 99 – 1 out of 10 – and now Jesus takes it down to even a more personal and direct number – 1 out of 2 with the Parable of the Lost Son. This is the story we often refer to as the Prodigal son, depending on the translation you’re reading.

This story told by Jesus has so many layers and so many life changing truths, we will divide this one into 2 devotionals. Today will be part 1, only covering the first half of the story. Let’s read it together in Luke 15: 11-24:

“A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.’

So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, and really for many reasons. I’ve been rather open about the 7 year journey with our own prodigal daughter. She walked out of our house at 17 and just never came back. Many times we had no idea where she was or if she was even alive. She made horrible, dangerous choices, and just kept running further and further. The Lord showed me how to wait in hope and faith. He showed me how not to chase her and make things worse. He showed me his faithfulness in the wait. I learned my job was to pray relentlessly for her and always be ready with the welcome home party when she returned. And when our girl finally did return to her family this year, he showed me how he had been allowing my daughter to step into her own testimony of his faithfulness. And yes, we had a party – a wedding party!

My prodigal had come home and our relationship continues to grow and flourish every day. It’s truly one of my greatest joys.

But this story is also one of my favorites because I realize it’s my own story as well. I am the prodigal. No, I never ran away from my family. No, I’ve never had a wild lifestyle or racked up a bunch of regrets. But gosh have I ever missed out on God’s best by chasing after something else. I am the prodigal. I am the lost one. The Father waited for me to come home and return to his best.

Can you see how that’s you too? That’s all of us.

The youngest son in Jesus’ story had made a mistake. His mistake was in LOCATION. The provision of his father was in location. He left his father’s house and he struggled fiercely. He ends up living with the pigs, just wishing he could eat the pigs food. But you know what that hunger did – that hunger brought him back home.

God lovingly allows us to struggle and suffer when we have chosen to be away from him. He allows hunger because hunger brings us back. Desperation makes us hit our knees. Rock bottom becomes a solid foundation for a turn around. But wow, have you ever noticed that some of us have basements to our rock bottoms? We can go further and further down – further and further away – run harder and harder – make even worse choices with harder consequences … but let me tell you something, THE FATHER IS STILL WAITING FOR OUR RETURN.

He’s still waiting for our surrender. He’s still waiting for us to stop running, stop resisting, stop making this worse.

The timing of this particular parable is so perfect because just last night I went to a really special service at our church here in Carlsbad, California. Surfers and beach babes basically went to a rodeo at our church. It was the strangest mix of beach people trying to be country. In our church parking lot was a corral surrounded by hay bails and bleachers. In the middle of the corral was a wild horse.

Then a legit cowboy enters the corral. Have you heard of this guy? His name is Todd Pierce with Riding High Ministries. In front of a live audience, he trains and rides a wild horse for the first time, all while giving us the most powerful visual of God’s loving patience with us. If you ever get a chance to go see Todd in action, I highly recommend it.

I cried through the entire experience. It was one of the most spiritual things I’ve ever witnessed. This horse was 2 years old and up until that week, he had never been touched by a human hand. He had been roped and trailered into California from a ranch in Idaho … and he was NOT happy about it. Todd enters the corral and this horse runs. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with this cowboy.

Todd every so slowly works his way closer and closer to the horse as it’s running in circles. He introduces the touch of his rope, then the touch of his hand. Little by little, the horse comes to trust him. But then, the horse would get scared and it would run wild again.

Todd explained that this is so often us with God. God begins His work in our lives. He gets closer. He reaches for us. We begin to trust Him. And then something scares us. So we run. But God doesn’t give up. He waits. He tries again. He gets a little closer.

And when the horse would refuse his touch, Todd would do something that absolutely broke my heart. He would get down on his knees. He would lower himself beneath the horse and show him tenderness and care. He wasn’t chasing him. He wasn’t forcing him. He was allowing the horse to see that he wasn’t there to hurt him.

The horse still had the power to run. And Todd was willing to let him. But as that horse watched this cowboy kneel before him, something began to change. Little by little, he came closer. And closer. And closer.

I’m sitting there crying and crying because suddenly I recognized myself. I’m the wild horse. I’m the one resisting. I’m the one who gets scared. I’m the one who doesn’t want to surrender. I’m the one who sometimes runs when God gets too close.

And yet…. God waits. God doesn’t stop loving me because I run. He doesn’t abandon me because I resist. He doesn’t force me into surrender. He patiently pursues me. He keeps reaching. He keeps waiting. He keeps inviting me closer.

But there was another part of this demonstration that really got me. Todd explained that every horse is different. Some surrender quickly. Some take much longer. Some fight hard. Some even try to hurt him. But ultimately, if a horse refuses to be trained, it loses. Not because the cowboy doesn’t love it. But because the horse cannot become what it was created to be while it remains wild.

Think about that. A horse can spend its entire life running wherever it wants, doing whatever it wants, refusing every bit of restraint. That may look like freedom. But it isn’t freedom if it keeps the horse from becoming what it was created to be. A trained horse can do incredible things. It can carry someone into battle. It can help a rancher. It can serve a purpose far greater than simply running wild. But a horse that refuses to surrender to its trainer will never experience that purpose.

And I couldn’t stop thinking about how often I do the same thing with God. I want His blessing, but I resist His training. I want His purpose, but I don’t want His process. I want Him to lead me, but I still want to choose the direction. I want the life He has for me, but I don’t always want to surrender the life I have chosen for myself.

And maybe that’s the question this parable is asking us: Am I willing to be trained? Because surrender to God isn’t losing my freedom. It’s finally becoming free to be who He created me to be.

The wild horse thinks the cowboy is taking something away. But the cowboy knows what the horse doesn’t yet understand: Surrender isn’t the end of the horse’s life. It’s the beginning of its purpose.

And maybe that’s what God is saying to you today. You don’t have to run anymore. You don’t have to fight Him. You don’t have to be afraid of what happens when you finally let Him get close.

The One asking you to surrender isn’t trying to diminish you. He’s trying to develop you. He’s not trying to take away your purpose. He’s trying to lead you into it.

So maybe today isn’t about trying harder. Maybe it’s about stopping. Turning around. And letting the Cowboy come close.

Stop running.

Stop resisting.

Stop fighting the hands that are trying to heal you.

Let Him train you. Let Him lead you. Let Him transform you. Because the greatest version of your life isn’t found in running wild. It’s found in surrender.

Whether you’re the prodigal running from the Father or the wild horse running from the Cowboy, the invitation is the same—come home. Stop running. Stop resisting. Stop believing that your freedom is found somewhere outside of God’s will.

The Father isn’t standing at the end of the road waiting to punish you. He’s watching for you. He’s running toward you. He’s ready to throw His arms around you, put a robe on your shoulders, and celebrate your return.

And the Cowboy isn’t trying to break you to ruin you; He’s trying to teach you how to live. He knows what you were created for, even when you don’t.

So today, maybe it’s time to stop running and let yourself be found. Stop fighting and let yourself be trained. Stop trying to build your own life and let the One who created you lead you into His.

Because surrender isn’t losing the life you wanted. Surrender is finally coming home to the life God created you for.

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When Jesus tells a story, you listen. When Jesus repeats 3 stories with the same meaning, you REALLY listen. Every story he told during his time here on Earth was of important purpose, but to repeat the same lesson 3 times in 3 ways tells us Jesus desperately wants us to get this message.

Today’s parable is part of that trilogy teaching. The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and the Lost Son. The teaching of the Lost Sheep was recorded by both Matthew and Luke, so we already looked at that teaching earlier in our series. But now as we look at the accounts of Luke, we see the remaining 2 stories taught back to back by Jesus to the same crowd of people.

Who were these people in the crowd, and why would they so desperately need to understand this message? This was a mixed crowd of religious leaders, along with as Luke puts it, “tax collectors and other notorious sinners”. These were people who didn’t mix.

Religious leaders of this day made very clear distinctions between who was considered acceptable and who was not—who was “clean” and who was “unclean.” And the people Jesus was attracting—the tax collectors and notorious sinners—were the very people the religious crowd believed should be kept at a distance. They didn’t mix.

But as Jesus taught this trilogy of stories about the lost, the sinners came crowding in. The people who had been pushed to the edges were now pressing into the center—right there at the feet of Jesus.

Why were the unclean and the sinners coming in? Because for the first time, they were being told they belonged, they mattered, and there was a path for them to be made clean. Up until then, as part of the unclean, they had been pushed to the edges. They were the people you avoided, the people you didn’t touch, the people you didn’t invite to your table.

They couldn’t simply blend in with everyone else. Their reputation went ahead of them. Their past followed them. Their failures had become their identity.

Imagine that for a moment. Or maybe you don’t have to imagine too hard because this is a story you continually tell yourself now. You don’t belong. You’re unworthy. No body wants you. You’ve felt like part of the “unclean”.

For these people being constantly told that they’re not good enough, not acceptable, not clean, eventually they started believing it themselves. Maybe they had assumed God was only for the clean people. The religious people.

And then Jesus came. And Jesus changed everything.

Jesus didn’t stand on the other side of the crowd pointing at them. He moved toward them. He welcomed them. He ate with them. He touched the untouchable. He talked to the unacceptable. He gave dignity to people who had been reduced to their sin. And suddenly, these people who had been told, “You don’t belong here,” were crowding around Jesus because Jesus was telling them something completely different:

You matter. You are wanted. You are worth finding. You are not too far gone.

That is the setting for these three stories. And that is why Jesus tells them three times, in three different ways: God goes after what is lost.

He tells the story of a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find one lost sheep. Then a woman who turns her house upside down to find one lost coin. And finally, a father who watches the road, waiting for his lost son to come home.

Three stories. One message.

God is not standing far away waiting for the lost to find their way back to Him. God is actively pursuing them. And Jesus wants these religious leaders—and every outcast listening at His feet—to understand something that would have been almost scandalous to them: The lost are not an inconvenience to God. They are His pursuit.

The very people everyone else had pushed away were the people Jesus was drawing near to. What was literally happening in this moment was James 4:8, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” The unclean were drawing in close for the first time believing maybe this man Jesus was sharing the Good News with them, and as they came in close, God came in close to them. A message worth repeating 3 times!

So today, we look specifically at “The Parable of The Lost Coin”. The short little story tucked in between the other 2 more popular stories of something that had been lost.

Luke 15: 8-10

“Suppose a woman has 10 sliver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lot coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.'”

And here in the crowd were the sinners who were told they were unclean and unworthy of anything from God. They were written off and excluded. Now, Jesus is telling them, YOU ARE LIKE A LOST COIN THAT IS WORTHY OF BEING SEARCHED FOR!

What does a coin have to do to be found? Absolutely nothing! The coin doesn’t crawl its way out of the corner. The coin doesn’t shine itself up to be found. No, the owner comes looking and will not quit until it is found!

Notice what the woman does when she loses the coin – She specifically lights a lamp and sweeps the entire house in a careful search. This is precisely what God does when he comes looking for one of his lost children. One who has gotten lost in the darkness, swept to the side, fallen in the cracks and been left alone.

First, HE SHINES THE LIGHT. What is this light? John 1:4-5, “In HIM was life, and that life was the LIGHT of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

But, the light doesn’t stop with God. Through Jesus, we become his light bearers. Matthew 5:14, Jesus says, “YOU are the light of the world.” Girls, this means for those of us with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we carry the light that God uses to search for his lost coins.

WE ARE PART OF THE SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM FOR LOST SOULS!!!!!!

Are they unclean? Are they not to be touched? Are they to be avoided? NOT ACCORDING TO JESUS!!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE TO BE SEARCHED FOR!

Jesus says with this light, the woman sweeps the entire house in careful search. GOD IS WILLING TO GO ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE LOOKING FOR A LOST SOUL. He will move the furniture. He will lift the rug. He’ll turn the sofa upside down. He’s not quitting the search for what is his.

Here in the crowd, lost souls are hearing Jesus say that he will not stop caring about them. And here today, those within the sound of my voice are hearing Jesus still saying the same thing – HE WILL NOT STOP CARING ABOUT YOU. No matter where you’ve been hiding – no matter what darkness you’ve been stuck in – no matter how dirty you’ve become – HE WANTS YOU BACK!!!!!!!!

You are his daughter. You belong to him. Nothing changes that.

Just because the coin was lost didn’t mean the woman no longer claimed it. No, she said, “MY COIN”. It was hers when she held it, hers when it was lost, and hers when she found it. “I have found MY lost coin.”

You’ve always been God’s girl. That’s not changing. Let yourself be found!

Do you know what will happen when he finds you? A FULL BLOWN CELEBRATION!!!!!!!!! Literally Jesus says “There is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

The angels are throwing a party over every soul who is pulled up out of the darkness. Over every soul who is picked up and dusted off. Over every soul who is restored to the place where they belong.

THERE IS JOY WHEN THE LOST IS FOUND! Not disappointment. Not condemnation. Not, “Well, look who finally came crawling back.” JOY!

Jesus is painting a picture for these sinners sitting at His feet—and for the religious leaders standing there judging them—that would have been impossible to miss. THIS is how God feels about sinners coming home.

And I think sometimes we forget that.

We know how to feel guilty. We know how to beat ourselves up. We know how to replay our failures and remind ourselves of every place we’ve fallen short. We know how to tell ourselves that we should have known better, done better, been better.

But Jesus tells a different story. He tells us that when we are lost, God searches. When we are in the darkness, God brings the light. When we are buried under the mess of our own making, God starts moving things around to find us. And when He finds us, He celebrates.

Girl, let that sink in.

God isn’t looking for a reason to reject you. He’s looking for you. You may have wandered. You may have messed up. You may have made choices you wish you could undo. You may feel like you’ve fallen so far into the cracks that nobody could possibly find you.

But you are not forgotten. You are not disqualified. You are not too dirty. You are not too far gone. You are still His.

The coin didn’t become worthless because it was lost. Its location changed. Its condition may have gotten dirty. It may have been sitting in a dark corner where nobody could see it. But its value never changed. And neither has yours.

Let Jesus find you exactly where you are. Because He already knows where you are. He’s already looking. He’s already searching. And when He finds you, He’s not going to pick you up and say, “What a mess you are.” He’s going to say, “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.” And heaven will rejoice.

If you’ve believed the lie that you’re unworthy, let Jesus tell you the truth. You are His. You have always mattered. You have never been too far away for His light to reach. And you are worth finding.

Because that’s the message Jesus repeated three times so we would never forget it:

The lost matter to God.

The lost are worth pursuing.

And when the lost are found, HEAVEN REJOICES.

So, Sis, let yourself be found.

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Luke 12: 16-21

Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

What if the things God has blessed you with slowly become the things you live for?

Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a Uhaul? No – you truly can’t take it with you. Everything you’ve ever bought – everything you’ve ever built – everything you’ve ever worked for – it will all be gone in an instant when you take your final breath. And my friend, I assure you of this – your final breath is coming. One day you will wake up, and it will be your last. You may not know it, but that day will come – and when it does only heavenly things will matter. Every earthly thing will be over.

But while we’re here having our earthly experience, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in our earthly things. It’s so easy to allow this entire life to become about work – about earning, about building, about buying, about having. All while we forget the entire point of our existence – this is our opportunity to have a rich relationship with God.

The one who created you wants you to know him. The one who imagined you, designed you, and knit you together cell by cell in your mother’s womb – the one who watches over you, the one who aligns good plans for you, the one who is always working all things together for good concerning you – he has given you this time to grow to know him, trust him and love him.

Everything else is temporary. Everything else is either a bonus – or it’s a distraction.

In this story, there’s nothing wrong with the man being rich. He had a fertile farm. Guess where that fertile farm came from? That was God’s creation. God made that land. God allowed that land to be fertile.

And that land produced fine crops. That’s a blessing. But here’s what those blessings did – they created wealth for this man and that wealth became a problem for him. He was so successful that he didn’t even have room to store all his crops. So of course, he plans to builds bigger barns. But, in all his success he failed to realize how extremely numbered his days were and his time was up that very night.

Is it sinful to be successful? Is is wrong to have money? No. That’s not the point of Jesus’ story. The point here was this man had spent his life building success but hadn’t built a relationship with God. The man didn’t do anything obviously evil. He worked. He was productive. His land produced. He succeeded. He planned for the future. He built bigger barns. None of those things, by themselves, are bad. The problem is that God was completely absent from his plans.

Notice how many times he says “I” and “my.” My crops. My barns. My wheat. His entire world had become about himself and what he could accumulate. Everything is “mine”. And yet, the truth is, everything he had was ultimately something he had received. The land wasn’t his creation. The rain wasn’t his creation. The fertility wasn’t his creation. His ability to work wasn’t his creation. His life itself wasn’t even his creation. BUT HAD HE FORGOTTEN ALL THAT IN HIS SUCCESS?

This is really a story of building a life that looks successful on the outside but is becoming spiritually empty on the inside. This is a story of allowing the things God has blessed you with to become the things you live for. And really, isn’t this a huge threat to all of us?

Have your blessings become the reason you live? If you lost those blessings, what would you have? You would still have your relationship with God – but if you haven’t been building that relationship with God, then you would be completely without a reason to live. And in the end, in that last breath, all you have is God. That moment is coming for every one of us.

We all fear failure, but you know what’s more dangerous than failure … success. When life is hard, we tend to reach for God. When life is going swimmingly well, we get all wrapped up in our blessings and God gets crowded out. That’s dangerous. We pray when we’re desperate – but do we pray when we’re successful? We seek God when we’re broken – but do we seek him as much when everything is working? We beg God for provision when we don’t have enough – but do acknowledge him with that same fervency when we have more than enough?

The danger isn’t having a lot. This is all God’s and he’s happy to share everything he has with his children. The danger is in having a lot and forgetting who gave it to you. I’ve done that. Haven’t you?

The man in Jesus’ story didn’t make a mistake by building a bigger barn. His mistake was building a bigger and bigger life without building a bigger relationship with God.

What’s the title of this podcast? BIG Life. We’re here seeking the BIG Life God created us for. We believe each of us were created for a big, beautiful life. What’s the key part of that BIG Life – our relationship with God. Otherwise, we’re just building barns that we can’t take with us!

Here’s what God wants to ask his girls today: All while you’re working on building a bigger life with your business, and your house, your family, and your health – how’s your relationship with ME? With all this building, HOW IS YOUR SOUL?

My girl, are you becoming more like Jesus? Are you learning to trust me? Are you growing to be more generous? Are you living more peacefully? Are you loving my people better? Are you spending time with me? Are you really enjoying this life I gave you to live?

If all you’re doing is building bigger barns, your soul may be getting smaller. And Jesus says that’s dangerous!

The man in Jesus’ story is planning for YEARS, but in reality his timeline is brutally short. We plan as those we have forever, but God asks us to live faithfully today with an eternal focus.

We don’t know how many more summers we get. How many Christmases. How many mornings with the people we love. How many conversations. How many sunsets. God doesn’t remind of this to make us fearful – he reminds us of this to help us WAKE UP. When you remember how temporary this life is, you can actually learn to live more fully.

In my moment of believing this life was truly over there were only 2 thoughts in my mind – I was going to see Jesus THAT day -and- did I tell my people that I love them. That’s it. Nothing else mattered. When I received the miraculous gift of more time, I was forever changed in how I woke up to each new day. I know what’s important, so I know how to live. All this other stuff is temporary.

If you knew you only had one year left, what would suddenly become important? Would you still work the same amount? Would you still care about having the same things? Would you still spend hours scrolling? Would you still keep putting off that conversation? Would you still be waiting for someday to do what God has been asking you to do? Would you still be obsessed with how you look? Would you still be trying so hard to impress people who won’t even be at your funeral?

Would you spend your time differently? Would you love differently? Would you give differently? Would you slow down?

Why are you waiting for a terminal diagnosis to start living like your life matters? You don’t have to know when your last day is to start living differently.

Jesus isn’t saying: Don’t have anything. He’s saying: Don’t let what you have become who you are.

You can enjoy beautiful things without worshiping beautiful things. You can dream BIG without making your dreams bigger than God.

The issue isn’t what is in your hands. The issue is what has captured your heart.

Before we build absolutely anything – let us make sure we are building the one thing that that matters – our relationship with God. The rich fool spent his life accumulating things he couldn’t keep. But Jesus invites us to spend our lives building something we can take into eternity—our relationship with Him.

If I keep living exactly the way I’m living today, what will my life look like five years from now? Will I simply have more stuff? More money? More accomplishments? More things checked off the list?

Or will I know Jesus more deeply? Will I love people better? More faithful? More courageous? More alive?

Because that’s the measurement Jesus gives us. Not how much we accumulated. Not how impressive our barns became. Not how successful we appeared. But whether we became rich toward God.

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Jesus tells a little story with big impact. Luke 8: 16-17, “No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.”

Imagine a dark room where you can see nothing. You light a lamp so you can find your way around. How ridiculous would it be to cover that light up and stumble your way through darkness again? You have light now – use it!

Jesus is reminding us that he has put his light in us. And his light within us is meant to be seen.

Here’s where we get this twisted – we make this about us. Girl, this isn’t about you. This isn’t about others seeing you, noticing you, or liking you. This is about others seeing JESUS IN YOU.

The lamp doesn’t say, “Look at me, look at me, I’m so glorious.” No, the lamp simply shines the glorious light it has from within. The lamp doesn’t create the light – the lamp CARRIES THE LIGHT.

You don’t have to manufacture God’s light. You don’t have to become impressive. You don’t have to have your life perfectly together. You simply have to stop hiding what God is doing in you.

What is God doing within you? If you’ve surrendered your heart and mind to him, he’s changing you. Can you see how he’s rewritten your desires to align with his desires? Can you see how he’s realigned your priorities? Can you see how he’s changed the way you see people and respond to situations? This is the literal work of 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.”

Do you see how Jesus’ work within you is making you a new person? Can others see it?

THAT’S WHAT JESUS IS TELLING US! Let me light something within you that everyone can see. Don’t hide it – let it shine!

Does anyone else look back on their journey and cringe at who they once were? Y’all, I disgust my own self. My number 1 goal was to own a private jet. My number 2 goal was to look ridiculously good in my private jet. And you know what I see when I look back on this journey – God was so incredibly patient and gracious with me. While I was growing materialistic and self-absorbed, he was absolutely determined to relentlessly chip away at my heart and recreate me.

Now, the deepest desires of my heart are to have an old 1970’s Volkswagon bus where I can roadtrip to a parking lot near you, invite you to come sit down with me for coffee and a devotional, then we lock arms that day and go serve together in your community. I just want to hit the streets with you and shine Jesus in dark places. I want to get my hands dirty. I want to hit my knees. I want to sweat with hard work right along side you that makes a difference. I want my heart to break for the things that break God’s heart and actively do something about it. I want to dance and celebrate and relentlessly cheer for the good things God is doing.

And then I want to hop back in my old 1970’s Volkswagon bus and roam around with God to find the next Jesus follower who wants to hop in for some coffee and live devotional and go out on another mission opportunity in their community.

This is what Jesus has done in me. He changed me. He changed my desires. He changed my goals. He changed my priorities. I went from wanting a jet to an old van and a mission roadtrip.

What has he done in you? What is he DOING in you? Don’t hide it – let it shine!

Jesus warns of the danger of the bowl or the bed. He says, “No one lights a lamp and then COVERS it with a bowl or HIDES it under a bed. What’s your bowl? What’s your bed? It’s the things that try to cover or hide the light of Jesus within you.

• It’s fear. Fear says hide while Jesus says SHINE. Then your fear becomes the bowl that hides that Jesus light in you.

• It’s comfort. Sometimes it’s not that you’re really afraid, it’s just that you’re so darn comfortable as you are. God’s been nudging you to do something, but doing nothing is just easier. God’s been telling you to go, but you’ve been thinking maybe later you’ll do it. God’s been telling you to say something, but you’re just hoping someone else will speak up.

Then you know what – your comfort becomes the bed where you lay and hide that Jesus light underneath it.

• It’s shame. Shame whispers secrets of the past to us. Shame tells us we’re not worthy. Shame throws every bowl it can find over that Jesus light so the real you isn’t revealed.

But there’s one thing you need to remind your shame – Your testimony was never ‘Look how good I’ve been’ – your testimony is forever ‘Look what Jesus has done.’ The darkest places in your life are actually where that Jesus light shines best!

You know what else is the bowl trying to cover that Jesus light in you, or the bed trying to hide his light …

• It’s busyness. Oh that sneaky little sucker that will slip right into our days and just make us so busy doing a thousand things, but still be hiding the light. We’re busy. We’re accomplished. We’re looking good. But we are so distracted that we aren’t actually showing the light of Jesus to the very people God has placed all around us.

That’s my biggest bowl right there. I just get too busy. And my busyness will cover the light of Jesus in me and I’m just leaving people in their darkness instead of just showing them Jesus. Are you doing this too?

Let’s get rid of these bowls that try to cover the light of Jesus in us. Let’s banish the beds that try to hide his light. Girls, let’s let what he has put within us SHINE!

Matthew 5:16 says: “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Notice what Jesus doesn’t say: “…so everyone will praise you.” He says: “…so everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” That’s the whole point. We don’t shine so people will see us. We shine so people can see Him.

That’s a powerful test for our lives: When people encounter me, do they see more of me—or more of Jesus?

Your job isn’t to create the light. Your job is to carry it. And your job isn’t to make people admire the lamp. Your job is to make sure the lamp isn’t covered.

Jesus, where do You want Your light to shine through me today? And then pay attention. Your life is someone’s opportunity to see Jesus.

Don’t hide the light.

Carry it.

Let it shine.

And when somebody sees something different in you, you don’t point to yourself. You point to Jesus.

A few years ago I learned a prayer that Mother Theresa would pray every single day. I put that prayer in my notes and began praying it daily myself. It’s not magic words – it’s just a reminder to throw the bowl away and move the bed out so the LIGHT OF JESUS CAN SHINE. Here’s the prayer and how I say it:

Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Let them look up and no longer see me, but only you, Jesus. Shine on others through me.
Let me praise you in the way you love best, by shining on those around me. Let me preach YOU without preaching, not by words but by example of everything I do in love for you. Amen.

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If there’s one of these stories that Jesus told that has most impacted my life, it is this one. It’s a guide for daily living and it will meet you exactly where you are every day of your life. The moral of the story – JUST BE FAITHFUL.

What happens when you are faithful with little? God sees you can be trusted with more.

What happens when you aren’t faithful with little? God knows he simply can’t give you more.

Whatever you’re doing with what you’ve already been given determines what you’re given next.

The story Jesus tells is about money, but I assure you this is a lesson on more than just finances. This is about your time. This is about your talent. This is about your treasures. Today, God is asking each of his girls to take an inventory and measure what we’ve been doing with what we’ve been given. Maybe you’ll find what I’ve found … it’s time to step up and do more with what I already have before I ask for one more thing.

Okay, so it’s story time and it’s a long story. Grab your Bible and read along. I’ll insert a few details along the way to help you understand the story Jesus is telling us.

Matthew 25: 14-30

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

Some translations will read ‘talents’ and that means money. My translation reads silver, again meaning money. How much money are we talking about? Answer: A ridiculous amount of money. All 3 of them received MUCH.

One talent or bag was around 75 pounds of silver. To put that into perspective, the smallest measure of money given here was about 16 to 20 years of daily wages.

The story Jesus is telling isn’t about the dollar amount – everyone received a lot from their master, even the one who received the least. The story is about faithfulness with what is given.

The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

What do you think digging a hole in the ground and hiding away what you’ve been given would look like? Wouldn’t it look like wasting it? Wouldn’t it look like doing nothing with it? Wouldn’t it look like playing it safe?

Yes. And wouldn’t it sometimes look like waiting until you’re more qualified, more confident, more ready? Wouldn’t it look like comparing what you have to what someone else has and deciding yours isn’t enough? Wouldn’t it look like being so afraid of losing what you’ve been given that you never actually use it?

A buried gift is simply an unused gift. It’s the thing you’ve been entrusted with, but you’ve done absolutely nothing with it.

It’s the talent to sing, but you’re too afraid to raise your voice for the One who gave it to you.

It’s the money to give, but you’re too concerned about what they might do with it.

It’s the story you’ve lived, but you’re too ashamed to tell it because you don’t want anyone to know where you’ve been.

It’s the opportunity in front of you, but you’re too afraid to fail.

It’s the idea God put in your heart, but you’ve talked yourself out of it before you’ve ever taken the first step.

It’s the time you have, but you’ve spent it scrolling and staying busy instead of investing it in what matters.

It’s the people God has placed around you, but you’re so distracted by your own life that you never stop long enough to pour into theirs.

It’s the calling you’ve sensed, but you’ve buried it under a thousand excuses: “I’m too old. I’m too young. I’m not qualified. I’m not ready. Someone else could do it better.”

Are you the one who has buried what you’ve been given? You haven’t invested it. You haven’t put it to work. You haven’t used it to build or grow or impact. You’ve simply buried it. Waiting.

Sometimes that’s exactly how we waste what God has given us. Not by doing something terrible with it—just by doing nothing with it. Girl, do you have a hole in the ground where your calling is buried? You’ve been given so much, but you’re not doing anything with it. Not really. And you know it.

What has God placed in your hands that you’ve stopped using. Look at your time, your talents and your treasures – what’s sitting stagnant in your life? What opportunity, gift, resource, idea, story, or calling have you buried because fear convinced you it was safer underground?

Well, what happens when God has given us something but we have refused to use it? What happens when we’re not faithful with what we’ve already been given? Here comes the rest of the story …

After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The master is God, and when the master returns he calls for each of us to give an account of how we used everything he has given us. It doesn’t matter what you’ve been given or how much you’ve been given – what matters is what you’ve done with it. The master wants to know. It matters!

If you’ve been given 40 years of life – what have you done with those 40 years?

If you’ve been given 2 children – what have you done with those 2 children?

If you’ve been given a weekly paycheck of $1000 – what have you done with that pay?

If you’ve been given a 2,000 square foot house – what have you done with that house?

If you’ve been given mercy and grace from past mistakes – what have you done with that mercy and grace?

If you’ve been given health – what have you done with that body that can move and go?

You never see the master asking a servant to produce the same as what another servant produced. He’s not comparing. The master is asking each one to produce with precisely what they’ve been given. He expected each one to do something with what they had.

It’s so easy for us to look at someone with extreme wealth and assume we would be so ridiculously generous if we were in their position. Oh, the good we would do with their money! But God isn’t fooled! Who you are with a $40,000 salary is who you would be with a $40 million dollar salary. More money just makes you more of who you already are.

Without children it’s easy to paint a fantasy world of how we would sing sweet songs as we cooked breakfast for our little angels. Girl, if you’re not singing songs while you feed the dog, you certainly wouldn’t sing cooking for ungrateful creatures who refuse to eat.

Isn’t it fun to fantasize about what you would do with a big new house with all that storage space? Oh to have a butler’s pantry! Oh mercy, walk in closets in every room! Built in storage in the garage. But do you know what you would do with it – the same exact thing you’re doing with a smaller house. If you’re complaining about this one, you would complain about that one. If you’re messy with this one, you would be messy with the next one. If you’ve overfilled this one with junk, you would overfill the next one with bigger junk.

Have you ever thought – well if I could sing like her I would use it for God in big ways? Uh huh – well girl, you can cook – are you cooking for God? You can talk to a rock – are you talking to others for God? You can clean – are you cleaning that church building for God? Really, let’s check ourselves.

So, let’s get to the point of the story Jesus is telling. The point isn’t to make you feel guilty about what you haven’t done. The point is to wake you up to what you still CAN do.

Because here’s the beautiful thing about this story: You are not standing at the end of your story. You’re standing in the middle of it. And if you’ve buried something, you can dig it up now! If you’ve been sitting on something, you can put it to work today. If you’ve been waiting, you can start right here.

The master hasn’t returned YET – but he may soon. And he’ll want to know what you’ve done with what he’s given you.

You don’t have to have five bags. You don’t have to be the most talented, the most educated, the wealthiest, the prettiest, the healthiest, or the most qualified. You just have to be faithful with what is already in your hands.

Stop looking at what she has. Stop wishing you had her life, her resources, her opportunities, her gifts, her energy, her story or her butt. That’s not your assignment.

Your assignment is your life. Your people. Your resources. Your opportunities. Your gifts. Your story. Your time.

And maybe you’ve been waiting for God to give you more when He’s been waiting for you to do something with what He’s already given you.

Today, let’s stop asking for more and instead ask this – “God, what have you already given me that I’m not using?”

Then let’s dig it up. Use it. Invest it. Give it. Share it. Build with it. Love with it. Serve with it. Do something with it.

Because one day, the Master is coming back. And when He does, I don’t want to stand before Him with a list of reasons why I was afraid. I want to stand there with open hands and say, “You gave me this—and I gave it everything I had. I did everything I could with it God. It hasn’t been perfect, but I sure tried.”

And I want to hear those words every one of us longs to hear: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Notice what the Master celebrates. He doesn’t say, “Well done, my successful servant.” He doesn’t say, “Well done, my impressive servant.” He says, “Well done, my GOOD and FAITHFUL servant.”

That’s the goal. Not bigger. Not better. Not more impressive. Faithful. JUST BE FAITHFUL.

Faithful with the little. Faithful with the much. Faithful when nobody is watching. Faithful when it feels insignificant. Faithful when you’re tired. Faithful when you’re afraid. Faithful with the time, the talent, the treasure, the opportunity, and the life God has placed in your hands.

Girl, you have been given so much. Don’t bury it. Take what you’ve been given and put it to work.

And let’s live the rest of our lives with one simple prayer: “God, everything I have is Yours. Show me what You’ve put in my hands – and give me the courage to be faithful with it.”

That’s it. That’s the assignment. JUST. BE. FAITHFUL.

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