“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” — Jeremiah 17:7
Some weeks leave your heart heavier than others.
This week was spent in courtrooms advocating for children—children who have endured horrific abuse and neglect. Children who were left in dangerous circumstances far longer than they ever should have been. Children whose small voices were ignored while the systems meant to protect them moved far too slowly.
And sometimes, painfully, the world seems to turn the story upside down. Adults who caused harm are called victims, while the suffering of the child fades into the background. Justice feels delayed. Accountability feels uncertain. And the weight of it all presses down on the heart.
On days like these, everything can feel upside down. The tears come intermittently. My heart is grieved.
But one thing remains unchanged:
God is still good.
When the brokenness of the world is on full display, I find myself clinging more tightly to the only hope that cannot fail. Thank you, Jesus, for the hope I can have regardless of present circumstances.
For the believer, the word hopeless has no place in our vocabulary. If the Lord is present, hope is present.
Scripture reminds us again and again that hope is not wishful thinking—it is a confident expectation rooted in God Himself.
The Word of God tells us that regardless of how dark or desperate a situation may seem, hope abides (1 Corinthians 13:13). Hope is not extinguished by the darkness of the world.
Our hope is anchored in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15–16), which means it can withstand every accusation, every injustice, every heartbreak we witness.
And perhaps most comforting of all, nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38–39). Not the failures of systems. Not the evil done by people. Not the grief we carry after hearing the stories of wounded children.
Nothing.
When the courtroom doors close and the weight of the week lingers, I am reminded that we must learn to look beyond our immediate circumstances—beyond the worry, the injustice, and the despair that so easily grips our hearts.
We look instead toward the light –
That light is the hope God gives in His Word.
It is a hope that does not deny the darkness but outshines it.
And that hope—that confident expectation in the goodness and justice of God—is what carries me.
On one side, a simple sandwich—bread ready to satisfy physical hunger. On the other, an open Bible, pages marked and highlighted, inviting something deeper. Both are necessary. But only one feeds the soul.
My intentional pause in a busy workday
For many busy Christian women—especially moms who work inside and outside the home—the word balance can feel like a burden. We imagine perfectly portioned days where every responsibility gets equal attention: work deadlines met, laundry folded, meals cooked, children nurtured, ministries served, friendships maintained.
But Scripture never commands us to achieve balance. It calls us to abide.
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me… ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
Just as our bodies require daily food, our souls require daily nourishment from God’s Word. Matthew 4:4 reminds us:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
In John, Jesus refers to Himself as the Bread of Life. In John again, He describes Himself as Living Water. Bread nourishes. Water sustains. If our physical bodies require daily food to function, how much more does our soul require daily nourishment from the Word of God?
When life gets busy and frustrations rise, we often attempt to push through on sheer willpower. But our spirits grow weary when they are underfed. The Word of God strengthens us. It renews our minds. It steadies our hearts. It reminds us who we are and whose we are.
We don’t merely need better time management. We need spiritual sustenance.
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion…
The story of Mary and Martha in Luke shows us this clearly. Martha was distracted and anxious about many things. Mary chose the better portion—she sat at the feet of Jesus. Martha wasn’t wrong to serve. She was simply trying to carry what was never meant to be carried without first being filled.
We don’t need better time management—we need spiritual sustenance.
The peace we long for isn’t found in perfectly managed calendars. It flows from the Holy Spirit within us—steady, sustaining, abundant. That kind of peace comes when we pause, open the Word, and sit at His feet before we rise to meet the demands of the day.
Balance says, “Do more evenly.”
Jesus says, “Come and eat.”
And when we feast on His Word—daily, intentionally—we rise from the table nourished, renewed, and ready.
Peace that depends on circumstances will always waver. But the peace that flows from the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is steady, rooted, and sustaining. That peace comes not from achieving balance, but from prioritizing presence—daily time in Scripture, daily communion with Christ.
The myth of balance tells us to juggle better.
The gospel invites us to sit first.
And when we sit at His feet—when we feast on the Bread of Life and drink deeply of Living Water—we are strengthened to rise and serve from fullness rather than depletion.
Daniel 4:28-37 offers a strong reminder about how we should not put off until tomorrow what can be done today. This is particularly true when it comes to our sin and repenting.
In Daniel 4:30, the King is seen looking and bragging at his own majesty and all the he had done. He thought of himself as a great man. This scene comes one YEAR after Daniel counseled the King to humble himself and repent before God upon interpreting the King’s dream to him.
What does Jesus say about being great, “But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” Matthew 20:25-26, 28 ESV
We lower ourselves to exalt God 🙌🏻
The king was living opposite of this. And just as God promised, the king’s pride led to his humbling. The king went from thinking he was the greatest human (Dan. 4:30) to behaving and acting subhuman (Dan. 4:32-33).
But – this blow to the king seemingly changes his life. When Nebuchadnezzar recognized the TRUTH of who was truly powerful and in control – he lifted his eyes to heaven and his reason RETURNED to him (v. 34).
The first thing the king then does is bless God and exalt Him!
“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;” Daniel 4:34 ESV
I know it’s not always easy but this example in Daniel reminded me this morning that while it’s not easy – we can have faith that what is happening now, in our lives and all around us, is working for the good of a much bigger picture. God is everlasting – this is His big, eternal picture that He is in control of.
Not only was Nebuchadnezzar’s reason returned to him but also his “majesty and splendor”, his “greatness” and his kingdom (v.36). I want to put an emphasis on the word “returned” here.
If something can be returned (by God), that means it can be taken away (by God) – because it ALL belongs to God…
And this is true of anything we possess on this earth: money, possessions, talent, family, friends. God is sovereign over all of these things. This means that even if we loose it all or it leaves us, we still have the HOPE of eternity. 🙌🏻
A perfect eternity with God that will not – cannot be taken away if we put our trust in Jesus. ❤️
Hold out your hands hands 🤚 ✋ in font of you – with palms lifted up. ⬆️ This is what we have to offer God… empty hands. Everything in this world 🌍 is temporary.
Scholars don’t seem to agree on the matter of if Nebuchadnezzar became a true follower of God. Only God knows the heart of a person. But whether we meet this king in heaven one day or not – we can learn from his last words recorded in the book of Daniel.
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” Daniel 4:37 ESV
Lamentations 3:40-44, ““Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.” Lamentations 3:40-44 ESV
What a gift that God purposefully allowed these words to become part of His Holy, inspired word. These verses are proof that God wants us to bring everything to Him, honestly.
For 5 years, I have recorded every meal, medication, poop, poop details, drinks, all details that make up the big picture of Jackson’s gut health. This has helped me to make shifts and those have been helpful – but even more so this has became a living history of my raw emotions going up to the Lord. My tears, frustrations, unknowns, so much effort, sometimes no gains, only setbacks….
The speaker of Lamentations in 3:44 said, “You God have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.”
It is ironic he said this as a line in prayer to God. Even if you feel like your prayers are not being heard, keep praying! Despite the speaker’s doubt, clearly God did hear this prayer since it is recorded in His Scriptures!
The text began with a call to “test and examine OUR ways” and return to the Lord.
The people had not even asked for God’s forgiveness, let alone repented or turned, but here we see the speaker beginning to make this shift. Healing takes time.
Psalm 147:3 says the Lord, “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”. Whether our heartbreak is an underserved outcome of others sinning against us or even if it’s caused by our own sin, God forgives those who seek His forgiveness.
He comforts. He mends.
For the first time this year, I am throwing away huge stacks of these “remembrance” pages. My Savior knows Jackson and He sees me. I am trusting Him and I will keep praying these special prayers for my special boy, knowing God will heal, forgive, and mend. ❤️
The harshness of my words filled our home this morning. Fill in the blanks here and it is possible what I said to my husband was worse still. What started off with a sudden wake up due to dogs barking and cats meowing turned into the ugliest session of not choice first fruits from my mouth. Our very loving but too domesticated dog Barnabas will not poop in the rain, living in the PNW this is a PROBLEM to say the least. I let him outside only for him to bark to get back in and place a perfectly positioned poop right in front of the Christmas tree. Before I get this cleaned up, the cats also seemed to have a struggle session and one of them used the bathroom in our bed! I am running around trying to clean this up, quietly, while my son is still asleep on the couch getting some of his best sleep that he has had in several nights…with each step I took my foot falls became louder, my heart rate faster, and the ugly parts of my heart started to bubble out from my mouth.
James really knew what he was saying when he proclaimed, “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body…”
My husband was calmly doing his morning routine, this seemed to only make me even more frustrated. I then did the worst thing possible – I began to run through the list in my head of how I always get stuck doing all of the things. I work, I mom, my son is autistic, I have slept (barely) on the couch for 6 nights, now I have tons of laundry to do, Jackson still has hand, foot, and mouth disease, I haven’t wrapped any presents…. Sister the list just went on!
"Remember my affliction and my wonderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me." (Lam. 3:19-20).
I knew this was not the way. I am so blessed and even in this season of sickness and what feels like total isolation, even beyond the normal isolation that I (we) feel as a family affected by Autism, God has been present! We have had peace that surpasses understanding even in high fevers, emergency rooms, and everywhere in between. We have been graceful to each other as Christ is towards us… But in a moments time I forgot. I chose to see my circumstances as bigger than my God. I forgot that the enemy hates marriages and is after our children.
When my husband left for work my heart was heavy, my soul was what the writer of Lamentations referred to as, “bowed low” within me.
And then in a moment of what could have ONLY been the prompting of the Holy Spirit- I grabbed my prayer journal and began writing down all of the things I have been GRATEFUL for these last several days. Friend let me tell you – darkness will flee from the presence of God’s light. It took mere moments for my heart to soften and for my rage to be replaced by the deep awareness and need to repent. I prayed, I opened my Bible, and I got back to my study in Lamentations that has been on an extended pause this last week. And God’s Word, His living Word, spoke directly to what my soul needed.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion", says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him".
In Lamentations 3:18, we see the speaker say, “his endurance has vanished” and in 3:20, “his soul is bowed low”…. His soul was remembering his affliction continually…
BUT – the man has a turning point – he CHOOSES to do something important. The mans situation felt dark and hopeless. In Lam. 3:21 the man says, “But this I call to mind…”
Dr. Christopher Wright describes this verse in this way,
“It is the deliberate, determined, teeth gritting decision to call something to mind.”
This was not a reaction based purely on feelings – pay attention here – THIS WAS AN ACTION OF WILL!
Consider how Godly Grief is different than Worldly Grief:
2 Corinthians 7:10-11, "For Godly grief produces repentance that leads to Salvation without regret. Whereas worldly grief produces death."
Simply defined: Repentance is regret for having lost God's approval, which leads to a commitment to reverse one's conduct and live for God. Worldly grief is grief brought about by loosing the world's approval, this leads to trying to regain that approval, and this produces death or divine judgment.
Lamentations 3:23 says, God’s “mercies” are new every morning. This refers to not only a literal morning but also figurative as well. Every night we go to bed knowing the sun will rise the next day. The morning will come. The same is true of God’s mercy.
Even when it feels dark, the daylight of God’s illuminating GRACE and HOPE is on the way. Recall this truth to mind when times are hard. And the best way to call this truth to mind is remember it.
These few verses in Lamentations this morning reminded me of these foundational truths:
God’s love is steadfast. It never leaves us or changes.
God’s mercies never end, they are new everyday.
God is faithful.
God is my portion, in Christ I lack NOTHING.
God ALONE is where I find HOPE that never ceases.
Every Advent I pray that the Lord will reveal Himself to me in a new, deeper way. This morning, this last week, He did that experientially.
Friends, I pray my blundering moment this morning reminds you too that God’s mercies are new every morning. We are victorious in Christ – we have the FREEDOM to CHOOSE HIM. And in Him we will find everything we need.
The Meek Momma 