EMBOLDENED

EMBOLDENED

Tag: peace

A Child is Born, A Son is Given

December 7th, 2025

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

To the people of Judah in a time of crisis, Isaiah spoke a message of hope and future deliverance by a coming king who would lead them to everlasting.

A kingdom that can’t be shaken, Hebrews says. Isaiah’s promise brought hope to the hopeless, and peace to those who felt like they were barely holding on. If you haven’t noticed yet, this is a common thread in the bible, and is a helpful reminder to us today: the circumstances of God’s people might look like hope is lost, but God’s sights are set on them. There is still hope here; God’s not done.

Indeed, He is making a way. He is sending a rescuer.

In Isaiah, God’s judgement on sin is declared with His promise to save His people with a coming king who will bring justice, restoration, and everlasting peace to the earth. In Isaiah 7 and 9, we are told what this king will be like.

The four titles in Isaiah 9:6-7 illuminate the nature, mission and hope that Jesus’ humble birth, the long awaited king, would bring into the world.

His arrival will change everything, I imagine them saying, light warming their eyes.

That’s the good news of Jesus Christ.

He is our Wonderful Counselor – Our Pele Yo’etz.

Jesus’ counsel is miraculous and extraordinary – transcending our human understanding. Though days are long and our hearts might grow weary, we are not left without help and covering. We have a mighty counselor who goes before us, and hems us in from behind. When we come to Him with questions and doubt that clouds our minds, He helps us make sense of the storms of life – covering us with His peace. His counsel and comfort are supernatural – though he has come to dwell among us in flesh, he is not of this world. He is our Wonderful Counselor.

He is our Mighty God – Our ‘El Gibbor.

Jesus is our heroic warrior, the powerful one. Jesus holds authority and power, yet not in a way that is domineering. He enters into the story quietly and humbly, a precious little baby in a manger. His leadership is unexpected, but his power and might are undeniable.

Putting our hope in Jesus, born in a dusty manger of a small farm town, is not a fragile hope; it’s steady and unshakable. He is mighty and powerful, able to redeem and restore all that has been lost and broken, yet, somehow still, he is gentle enough to hold our life in His hands. The government will be on his shoulders – thank goodness we don’t have to carry the weight of the world, but instead can trust the One who holds it all together. He is our Mighty God.

He is our Everlasting Father – Our Avi-’Ad.

God is our Father – in Him we live, move and have our being. He is our very source of eternity, the Hebrew name tells us.

Scripture tells us often that Jesus is stirred with compassion toward us, as the Father is. Like Father God, His affections are for us — not momentarily or in a way that is fleeting, but in a way that is steady and sure. He is for us – providing, protecting, and guiding.

The Messiah (Jesus) being called everlasting father doesn’t indicate he is the Father of the Trinity, but that he is our eternal protector who cares for His people with everlasting faithfulness. It means that Jesus’ heart swells with love as he considers us — just like the Father’s does.

He is our Prince of Peace – Our Sar Shalom.

This coming king, and the kingdom he will establish, will reflect God’s original intent. You and I were knit together for peace, wholeness, and harmony; the long awaited savior, Jesus, will help us return to the life we were made for – reconciling us with the blood he poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus is our ruling authority who governs with peace, bringing justice to the land, and restoring right relationship with our Creator. Jesus didn’t just create peace through the absence of war, but by bringing to us the presence of Someone.

Jesus brings us near by his blood, reconciling us back to God, and ushering us into a new type of living marked by His shalom. He is our Prince of Peace.

This is the good news of the gospel, that our promised savior has come.

Thanks be to God.

The generations before us had this promise to cling to as they waited for the fulfillment of it. Today, we have the person of Jesus to praise as evidence that God is faithful to what He has spoken.

We are children of the inheritance; today, we have the fulfillment. And as we wait for future promises of Christ’s return, let us not miss the moment to worship Him for what He’s already done.

God sent us a Rescuer to make everything right. In him, we find wisdom, leadership, peace, and tenderloving care and protection. This is the child given, the Savior to us born – here to lead God’s people home to the place they’ve always belonged.

Through Him, we’re coming home to the Father’s house, where we’ve always belonged.

God is good on His promises; let us remember Him.

O Holy One,

Thank you for sending your Son.

What a privilege it is to know you,

To know the battle is already won.

Help me today to remember,

to repent and believe.

This is the wonderful truth,

the one that sets us free.

All things will be restored,

by the blood of the lamb, and

the power of our testimony.

The son has set us free,

and we are free indeed.

This is the gospel of Jesus;’

Because of His kindness,

we are free – free indeed.
The Promise of a King

December 5th, 2025

True hope isn’t cultivated with ease. It creeps through the cracks of our missed expectations, and finds us unexpectedly shipwrecked in the raging seas. Hope rises in the tension of waiting when our minds remember the One who quiets the waves and calls storms to cease. Like a cord pulled tight, tension building and bracing for release, we wait with great anticipation. There, we find true hope, the kind that says, there’s something better here if we just hold on a little longer.

This was the ache of Israel – children of the promise, but not yet of the fulfillment. Though today, we’ve seen God’s faithfulness by sending His Son, waiting for God is still our inheritance.

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For generations, Israel searched far and wide for a leader who would restore their kingdom and throne. Through war, foreign occupation, and exile, some of God’s people struggled to believe His plans for them were good. God spoke of blessing and flourishing, but when they looked around, that’s not what they saw. Yet even then, when circumstances were less than ideal, some still chose to believe God’s light would find its way through. When their lives’ conditions didn’t change or improve, they still clung to the Word of God. Here is where they learned: remembering God’s promise leads to hope.

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When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you…and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. – 2 Samuel 7:12-16

The days are coming, declared the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord our Righteous Savior. – Jeremiah 23:5-6

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At the end of 2 Chronicles, the kingdom of Jerusalem falls, and Israel doesn’t have a temple or a king. They, too, find themselves under foreign occupation during the Babylonian exile. At the time, many grew desperate, thinking God this is not how you told us it would be. Where is our king? But this ache whispers us ahead to the kind of Redeemer God would send.

Here, the author calls back the Davidic covenant of the Messiah to come. He will be a king, and his kingdom will have no end. As the story progresses for the temple restoration project led by Nehemiah, Israel stirs with excitement, believing they’d soon receive their king. God’s people called upon the prophecies that promised one who’d reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.

All who hoped in the Lord carried strained hearts as they remembered the promise God whispered to David in 2 Samuel of a leader from his line who would establish the throne of God’s kingdom forever. Where is our king, the one who will save us, and help us find safety? Every failed crown grew their heart’s desperation, but hope led their eyes to look beyond their situation. God said it would be, so it will be, the faithful said. Each earthly king brought them closer to the One who would save them, and restore their house to prosperity.

All we must do is wait expectantly.

After Jerusalem falls, Ezra and Nehemiah come along and the temple and Jersualem’s walls are rebuilt, but their search continues for their reigning king. Their hopeful sighs sets the stage for the arrival of Jesus, the true Messiah to lead God’s people to flourishing.

Hide His Word in your Heart

In the closing chapters of the Old Testament, Israel returns from exile, restores God’s temple, and get into an argument with God about when they would see Him be faithful. After all their suffering, patience, and endurance, Israel was ready to “see” God’s blessing. After God’s promise to send a redeemer, and his reminder of the reigning king from David’s line, God goes quiet. For 400 years, there is not a word from Him.

Before Jesus entered the world, his entrance the breaking of God’s silence, God dwelt there in the quiet. He searched for a faithful remnant who chose hope without knowing how or when He would reveal Himself to us. He waited for a few who trusted His word was true.

For that faithful remnant, hope remained steadfast – even when God was silent – because His Word was hidden in their hearts. Even in the tension, faith lingered, because God was their Author and Finisher.

Through war and sickness, exile and rebuilding, silence and the tension of waiting, God’s promise remained the hope of His people. Let it be the same for us. We are not done waiting for God, but we can be sure of His faithfulness because of the ways He’s already been good.

Hide His word in your heart, and watch it bloom. All it takes is a mustard seed. Behold, he will come to make all things new.

Joining the Faithful Remnant

May we remember how far God has taken His people, and the ways He’s been good. Whether we see His promises in the natural yet, trust and believe that we are children of the inheritance.

Let us hope in the Lord, the One who makes ways in the wilderness, and builds rivers in the desert.

Let us join the faithful remnant, trusting the King of the eternal kingdom.

Let us hope in the Lord, for He has been good.

Amen.

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NOTE:For thoughtful ways to engage this Advent season, subscribe to my newsletter for stories and simple bible study resources.

On even days, I’ll post a reflection on my blog. On odd days, I’ll send a newsletter with key scriptures, personal stories, and thoughtful questions to go a little deeper.
The Hope of a Redeemer

December 3rd, 2025

Behold, I sent my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)

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Behold, he is coming.

And it’s such great news.

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All across the Old Testament, God established covenants with His people, trying to make a way back to divine communion between man and God. God’s planned to restore hearts back to the life He had intended for His sons and daughters. As He made covenants with even the most righteous of people – Abraham, Noah, Moses, David – each leader eventually abandoned their post. Their brokenness caught up to them. This is the legacy of Israel, forgetting their Maker time and time again, so instead, God planned to establish a covenant that man’s sin could never break. But, this took time.

So, God’s people had to wait. They had to cling to the promise of God, and believe He was a man of His Word before the fulfillment of it.

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There are a handful of prophesies in the Old Testament where God speaks of a Messiah, Redeemer, and Deliverer, offering hope to His children stuck in darkness and captivity. Each of these promises points to Jesus, the sinless and perfect man who died on our behalf for the forgiveness of sins – whose seemingly mundane, yet wildly extraordinary, birth is remembered every December through the season of Advent.

Placed as the final book of today’s ordering in the Old Testament, Malachi is God’s final word before an era of silence. It’s a message directed to those living in Jerusalem, after the temple had been rebuilt when the Israelites expected the prophetic hopes to come to pass. They were anticipating the arrival of the Messiah to establish God’s kingdom and reign with justice and peace – but that’s not what we see. This generation ended up being just as corrupt and unfaithful as those who’d come before them.

In this story, the Israelites bring before God a handful of disputes. Doubting God’s love and faithfulness, the Israelites bring half-hearted offerings to the altar of sacrifice, and worship the idols of their wives. The Israelites see injustice and corruption abounding, putting God’s love and tender care on trial. Fretful and feeling betrayed by God, they turn away from the One who seems to do nothing about it.

Where is the God of Justice? they cry.

But despite the doubt and disobedience of Israel, God has compassion on them, staying true to His word and character, giving them promise instead of punishment. As God tells of the moments she’s been faithful, God invites His people to remember their God. Then, He declares,

Behold, I sent my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)

This is the message of Malachi: we are prone to wander, but God keeps His word. He is faithful, even when we’re found forgetful.

If God said so, then there’s reason to hope.

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Behold, he is coming.

This is such good news.

The last of God’s words for generations, this was the promise Israel held onto as they walked. Not until word travels about a baby in Bethlehem did God speak, ending His silence.

Today, let us remember the God who did not forget His people, but promised them a Redeemer who would come to deliver them from their troubles – One who would restore Israel’s flourishing.

As we wait, and God stays quiet, may we remember that even in His silence, He is ever present. Waiting on Him gives us time to ready our hearts to receive the gift He is sending. And in the mean time, He is with us and He has not forgotten us.

As we bring before God our questions like, God, are you listening? God, do you care? God, are you good? God, where are you?, may we trust and believe His promise is for us, too.

God delays because He’s patient, not because He’s withholding. This is the message of Malachi. Let us clean our hands and purify our hearts before the Lord, so that when He comes we’re ready.

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Behold, he is coming…for you. And it’s such great news.

May this be the praise on your lips today: thanks be to God, for He is faithful to His Word.

NOTE: For thoughtful ways to engage this Advent season, subscribe to my newsletter for stories and simple bible study resources.

On even days, I’ll post a reflection on my blog. On odd days, I’ll send a newsletter with key scriptures, personal stories, and thoughtful questions to go a little deeper.
The Message of Advent

November 30th, 2025

God is Love & In Him There is Hope

Today is the first day of advent, the time where we remember the faithfulness of God.

If I’m honest, my prayers have sounded a lot like the Psalms this season. How long O Lord, until your restoration is here? How long O Lord before we’re back in the garden? How long O Lord until there’s no more sickness? No more injustice? No more loss and grief? How long O Lord until all things are made right and new? How long O Lord —

I wish I knew.

This is the conclusion that I’ve drawn after walking through what has felt like a valley of shadows: there’s no hope here without God. But in him? It abounds. God’s hope is living and breathing and alive because hope is a person, and his name is Jesus.

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Whether you meaningfully engage with Advent each passing year, or all you know is that it has something to do with Jesus, I’m grateful you’re here. Here’s my simple summary of a season that holds great significance and depth.

Advent is –

the hope of Jesus for the weary,

The peace of God for the grieving,

The joy of the Lord for the hurting,

and the love of God for the wandering.

When God sent Jesus into the world, this is what He was saying: God loves us, He has not forgotten us, and we’re not alone. And not only that, but there is still hope here; God’s not done. Oh, how sweet it’s been for my own soul to remember who God is, and what He’s done. He is more than we could ever ask, think, or imagine.

Advent is a beautiful offering of hope for a weary world, reminding us of the loving faithfulness of God. And every year, we’re invited not only to celebrate the arrival of the long awaited king, but also to remember God’s promises that has sustained the hope and joy of believers for all of time.

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God Has Not Forgotten Us. Let us Remember Him.

Isaiah 49:15-16 says this: Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.

God has not forgotten us. We are ever before Him.

As humans, our challenge is to reciprocate this affection and adoration. We get distracted, or afraid, and while God remembers us, nestled preciously in His sight, we trend toward forgetfulness. But maybe, for the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, it could be different. Instead, we could slow down and –

Remember His goodness.

Remember His love.

Remember His trustworthiness.

Remember how He goes before us, and hems us in from behind.

He is with us in the waiting to both comfort and refine.

As we contemplate who God is and what He’s done, we’ll return to what is true: there is still hope here. God’s not done.

If the troubles of this world have worn you down, there’s no better message to cling to than the one we call good news. To my table, you’re invited where the chief goal is simply to remember Him.

..

Coram Deo

Today, consider God’s compassion for you in Isaiah 49:15-16.

Delight in this truth: He has not forgotten us. We aren’t left to fend for ourselves amidst the brokenness of this world. God longs for perfect holy communion. This is why he sent His Son.

NOTE: For thoughtful ways to engage this Advent season, subscribe to my newsletter for stories and simple bible study resources.

For the most part, on even days, I’ll post a reflection on my blog & on odd days, I’ll send a newsletter with key scriptures, personal stories, and thoughtful questions to go a little deeper.
Patient Hope in Waiting

September 27th, 2025

Patient Hope in Waiting.

Slow down; be still my heart.

Listen and linger; I’ve been here from the very start.

My love casts out fear, and brings perfect peace.

Hold fast with hope, even in the waiting.

If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Romans 8:25

Patience is a fruit of the spirit, produced in our hearts and minds as we draw near to Him. For me, patience has never been a natural bend. When I hope for or desire something, the urgency of it overwhelms me. But in Romans, we’re told to wait with patient hope.

Sometimes I wonder what in the world that looks like.

Unhurried. Patient. Confident in hope.

Sometimes I hide from the Lord, struggling to trust His good plans for me. Yet I quickly discover discomfort in my distance. Without the nearness of Jesus, I feel rushed and impatient, my foot anxiously tapping the floor below me.

It could be in line for coffee, the momentary pause before the light turns from red to green, or the yet more difficult seasons of searching for clarity, repair, or beauty after breaking. No matter what it’s for, I’ve never been good at waiting.

But when I look up, Jesus changes everything. As I fix my eyes above, my heart, my mind and my soul find the rest they’ve been looking for. A moment in His courts becomes a gentle reprieve from the troubles He calls momentary but I call all-consuming.

There, I find grace – even peace and joy – to sustain me in the waiting. How often I forget this is His promise of withness. As I turn to Him, patient hope becomes a unique and mysterious result of God’s grace at work in my heart.

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In the arms of the Father, God reminds me I am not called to striving and self-reliance. I am encouraged toward hope in the unseen, believing He is good on His promise. When I open my heart to receive, patient hope in place of striving is His sweet gift to me. Moment by moment, as I turn my eyes upon Jesus, patience inhabits more and more of my Spirit as He fills me to overflowing. With His help, I return to what is true:

I am not in a hurry.

Such slowness feels unfamiliar, so that’s how I know He is near. This is Christ’s presence alive in me. Not by might, not by power, but by His Spirit I receive His peace.

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Because of Jesus, we can wait with joyful expectation, knowing our labor is not in vain. We can lean in with faith that gives us confidence in what we hope for, and assurance for what we don’t see because the Lord has shown Himself faithful for all eternity.

We wait joyfully because He’s promised streets of gold instead of sorrow,

Eternal life – days no longer borrowed,

And every tear wiped from our face.

We wait joyfully because the promise of Heaven await us, just beyond those ancient gates.

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There’s a lot I hope for that I don’t yet see. Often, I hustle, hurry, and grip tightly – striving my way to victory. When I fall into step with Jesus, I see more clearly. In slowness, I become more aware of His beauty and grace in the unexpected places, as I hang suspended in the in-between. There, His wisdom clarifies and refines as I sit at His feet. Fears and misplaced desires begin to fall away, and what begins to take shape is a life lived simply for His glory. Here is where I remember: there is purpose in the waiting. And not only that, but there is joy and life abundant in the space between.

It’s my joy to wait on Him.

Patient hope responds to God’s beckoning in want and in plenty. It trusts in His plan for redemption and restoration of the whole world that He holds so dearly in the palm of His hand.

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Today, I find myself in many waiting’s.

I’m waiting for repair and reconciliation, for justice and mercy, healing and breakthrough, daily bread and heavenly provisions, for peace and harmony.

Sometimes, as I wait, my heart perceives delay as forsakenness but it’s quite the contrary. Even and especially here, I know He is close to me. Every longing I hope to see God’s hand move in reminds me of the greater story and promise as we await the second arrival of Jesus where He will return to establish a new heaven and a new earth.

The truth is, this heart of mine, and the one beating to keep you alive, was made for shalom –

for a garden where there was no fear in being seen or known,

where there was no question about the sovereignty and power of the Lord who sits enthroned,

where there was perfect harmony between man and God.

As I wrestle waiting for what I do not yet have, I am reminded of the desire hidden in the depths of my heart: I’m longing for Eden. I’m longing for life to be what it was always meant to be – free from pain, sorrow, and striving; a simple life full of joy and delight.

If you’re searching for more peace, joy, love, harmony, connection, or meaning – your heart may, too, be lovesick for the garden – for God’s original design. As I await Christ’s return, and all of the other things I hope for yet do not have, I am learning how to wait patiently, expectantly, and joyfully. In the space between, He’s teaching me how to:

Cling to His promise – desperately, dependently, wholeheartedly.

Remember His faithfulness – He sent His son because He so loved the world.

Taste and see His goodness here among the living – stare at a sunset, laugh with some friends, thank Him for what I do have.

Delight in the gift of His presence – turn to Him, and never stop. Repent, be honest in my doubt, and let Him reveal Himself to me.

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As you wait for the unseen, may you take heart. May you trust and believe. Every good work begun by our Father He will complete. As you wait for what you do not yet have, may your Spirit learn how to walk in step with Jesus – waiting patiently.

Wait with expectation because God is faithful and kind.

Wait because His eternal glory far outweighs every momentary trouble we face.

Wait because He makes beautiful things in perfect time.

Everything that asks patience of us is an echo to the greater waiting we endure between Jesus’ two arrivals. May you cling to the cloak of Jesus, and never let go.

This is patient hope.