Some weeks are especially hard, and we tend to run in the direction of Hope and Salvation that is the opposite of ourselves. There are days where you know the world is just a blot on the page of eternity, but you feel dwarfed and buried by it anyway. There are days that seem as if they will never end, and days that pass too quickly for you to breathe in a moment of passing serendipity. There are days where your spirit runs solely on the espresso shots from Starbucks and the abundant blessings the Lord has given to you, and days (maybe months or years) where your spiritual life is dragged through a series of Bible studies and unfinished devotional books, and out of habit to Sunday morning church.
"Sometimes" maybe seems like all the time for you. I've recently been reading She Reads Truth by Amanda Bible Williams and Raechel Myers in my free time (which is probably like yours—slim). Some of the pages have tweezed their way into my heart, and some chapters I have read and reread over and over again, and have stamped me like an overdue library book. Some pages are dusted with Cheetos-encrusted finger prints, and others with a blotch of Powerade. I'm not even one-fourth of the way finished with the book(!), but here are ten quotes I hope help you over the hurdle you're facing today.
1. "She is me. She is you. She wants faith, hope, and love. She wants help and healing. She wants to hear and be heard, to see and be seen. She wants things set right. She wants to know what is true—not partly true, or sometimes true, or almost true. She wants to see Truth itself, face-to-face." (pp. 7-8)
2."There is truth (our present circumstance), and there is truer Truth (the history of God's unwavering faithful, covenant relationship with His people)." (pp.16)
3."Our God is a small picture kind, and big picture faithful." (pp. 18)
4."He's in the business of redeeming the whole story. While our stories are constantly changing, constantly ebbing and flowing with great news and crippling tragedy, He is unchanging. Permanent." (pp. 18)
5."The truth in your cup is nothing comparing to the truer Truth that is looking you in the face at that moment." (pp.21)
6."Seeing my messy pile of world promises next to God's book of eternal covenant, it's clear the mistake I've made. I've come to expect the same thing from God's promises as I do the world's, treating them both like they're unshakable. Even worse, I'm prone to see the world promises as sure footing while suspecting the Scripture-promises may shift." (pp.25)
7."We know promises are good. We know they are meant to be kept. But schedules shift and toys break. Contracts fall through, and, heartbreaking marriages sometimes do too... You and I were made for an unbreakable promise. We can have a guarantee. But we won't find it shoved in a windowed envelope on our messy countertop, or even in a tuxedoed groom. The one true covenant comes from the one true God, and we'll find it in His word." (pp.28)
8."The fear had not disappeared from her eyes, but it paled next to the sparks of joy and wonder." (pp. 32)
9."Is my life hidden in the immovable, imperishable rock of God and His Word, or am I climbing hills made of lesser things and hoping for the best?" (pp. 34)
10."God's Truth gives our temporary lives eternal significance. It speaks forgiveness over our sin, hope over our despair, worth over our shame, and life over our death. In its light, everything matters. And at the same time, nothing else matters." (pp. 36)
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
