Today's post is inspired by a reading from Daniel 3:16-25, otherwise known as the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. These three men believed and declared that the Lord would deliver them from the fiery furnace and He did. Their story teaches us to have unrelenting faith and declare the Lord's deliverance over our circumstances. But sometimes deliverance doesn't look the way we want it to and that's when our faith is tested.

Sex, intimacy, and purity--these are all sensitive topics that aren't easy to talk about. But it's in the areas we keep private that the devil can easily slip in. I'm sharing my story so that hopefully you won't have to. Let there be light in dark places, words of truth and wisdom where there was once silence.

Single and Surrendered. You finally understand the beauty of God's design for mankind and marriage. You've established holy boundaries for dating and intimacy. You trust Him with the thing that was once the hardest to surrender. And yet...you're still hurting. You still feel the ache of your missing rib or missing mate. You fear missing out on love and intimacy if you don't settle. Being single and surrendered hurts. The price of hope is hurt. But without hope, there is only

God has always sought a home and a family. Even after Satan tried to steal His most precious creations from Him, the Lord found ways to remain present with His people and inhabit the earth. God's plan has always been to dwell with us on the earth. His presence endures with us always. In every situation and in every season, God is with us.

Cancer doesn't leave you untouched--not the patient nor the family supporting their loved one. But when the world turns you away, Jesus is still with you. When your hope is threatened, Jesus restores it. When you face a crisis that requires more of you than you have to give, Jesus strengthens and sustains you. Even in our times of greatest grief, all hope is not lost.

There is a difference between self-seeking and seeking the Lord. False teachers would have you seek wisdom from sources other than the Lord. Today, this may look like: inner divinity (the power of manifestation), astrology, tarot, secret knowledge spirituality (modern-day gnosticism), etc. The Bible makes it clear there are other powers, other spirits, other knowledge out there. But that is not the power, spirit, or knowledge we are called to seek. Jesus is the way, the truth