Lord I Belive but Heal my Unbelief

My word for 2026 is believe.

I’ve struggled sometimes to believe who God says He is and what He says about me. As I persevere through trials and see others also facing catastrophic circumstances, I wonder what will hold us, what will have us persevere to the end! The answer is really the word of God and what He says about Himself and us.

If we truly believe His word and what it says - that:

o   All things work for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)

o   He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5)

o   Joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5)

o   The waters won’t drown us, nor will the fire burn us up (Isaiah 43:2)

o   If we wait on Him, we will mount up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31)

o   The present suffering doesn’t compare to His future glory (Romans 8:18)

o   After a while, our suffering will produce a harvest of righteousness if we do not give up (Hebrews 12:11; Galatians 6:9)

If we truly believe those promises to the core of our being, then what could possibly break us? Can heartbreak? Loss? Disappointments? Diagnosis?

If we truly believe what He says, then nothing should truly phase us. Belief gives birth to trust, faith, and hope.

And so I say, Lord, I believe, but heal my unbelief (Mark 9:24).

Help me know Your Word, Your promises, and to believe it with every fibre of my being.

Help me to believe that You are who You say You are and that You love me.

Out Of The Fire - Refined for 2025

2024 flew by so fast it left me with whiplash, and it has undoubtedly been a year full of learnings. If you know me you know that at the end of each year, I prayerfully ask God for a guiding word for the upcoming year. At the close of 2023, I did just that. The first word I received was “pain.” I kept pushing it away, refusing to accept it, but the Holy Spirit kept affirming it. During this time, I was also led to Habakkuk 3, and as I read it, verses 17 to 19 stood out to me, ending with the punchline "He will make my feet as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.”

I thought it was such a beautiful poem, and I couldn’t believe I had never seen it before. Yet, the words spoke to a barren place—a place that echoed the very word I was resisting.

As I continued to seek God in prayer, other words came: trust, bear fruit, and finally, rebuild. It became clear that God was saying, “There will be pain in 2024, but through it all, trust me. Don’t stop bearing fruit—bear fruit all the more—and it will lead to a rebuilding. A rebuilding of you, from the ground up, on a firmer foundation in Christ.”

Sure enough, 2024 brought immense pain points. I wasn’t barren in terms of resources, but I found myself in circumstances that brought me to my knees. There were broken promises, lost dreams, and a painful end to a significant relationship. I also struggled with health and motherhood in ways I never had before. My life was not completely looking the way I wanted or hoped for, but through it all, I have clung to Habakkuk 3 over and over again. "Make my feet steady, Lord! Help me climb these heights, Lord!" This has been my battle cry.

As I’ve written so many times before, painful experiences are often where God does some of His best work. This year, He gave me glimpses of His majesty and grandeur. I saw Him in ways I hadn’t before. I came to understand that in my pain, He also sorrows. He weeps with me and shares in my disappointment. In 2024, I’ve grown to trust God more deeply—with my outcomes, with His timing, with everything.

On the upsdies, God used me in His kingdom this year, and I am humbly grateful for the opportunities He gave me to bear fruit. He also, opened new doors, fulfilled new dreams, and surrounded me with an army of friends and family who love and support me.

It’s hard to sum it all up in human words. When I reflect on it, a heavenly language pours out. But let me try: everything—every detail of our lives—points us to God. The pain and the joy, the highs and the lows, all work together to draw us closer to Him, to reveal who He is, and to show us who we are in Him. This journey is filled with challenges, but we count it all joy because God uses it all.

This year has cemented for me what it means to have Christ at the center of everything. The eye of the storm—that’s where He is. That’s the safe space. This journey isn’t about chasing happy moments or fulfilling the desires of our hearts; it’s about who we are becoming through it all. It’s about living this beautiful, wonderful life with my Savior, Jesus Christ.

There is life beyond this world, but it begins here, and I want to make the most of it. As I look ahead to 2025, the Holy Spirit is saying, “prayer.” With Ephesians 3: 14 – 21 as my guiding scripture “Yes, I want to know how wide, how high, how long, and how deep God’s love is for me.” I’m stepping into some new places. Let’s see where He leads!

The God Who Sees Me - Lessons From Hagar

Psalm 34:18 – "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Isaiah 41:10 – "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Deuteronomy 31:8 – "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Lamentations 3:22-23 – "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Such powerful scriptures demonstrate God’s love and providence, a reminder that no matter what, He is always there! I believe this love and protection is beautifully evident in the life of an unsung Bible hero, Hagar. Like Leah in my last post, Hagar isn’t often celebrated as a Bible hero. Yet her story resonates with me deeply because it reveals an incredible part of God’s character. God showed up for Hagar, even though she wasn’t part of the central plan. Well, she is part of the story—clearly, since we’re talking about her—but she wasn’t part of the greater story and promise God made to Abraham and Sarah.

If you’re unfamiliar with the story, here’s a quick synopsis found in Genesis 16 and 21.

Hagar was an Egyptian servant in the household of Abraham and Sarah. God had given Abraham and Sarah a promise in their old age that they would have a son through whom a great nation would come. But when the promise didn’t happen in their timing, they took matters into their own hands. Sarah gave her servant, Hagar, to Abraham to bear a child, hoping to fulfill the promise through her. This decision brought Hagar into the story.

After becoming pregnant with Ishmael, tension grew between Hagar and Sarah, leading to mistreatment. Feeling unwanted and unloved, Hagar ran away into the wilderness, heartbroken and alone. It’s in this lowest moment that God met her for the first time. He comforted her, gave her promises about her son, Ishmael, and revealed Himself as “The God Who Sees.” Later, after Sarah gave birth to Isaac (the son who would fulfill God’s promise), Hagar and Ishmael were sent away again. Lost and desperate in the wilderness, God met her a second time, providing water and reaffirming His promise to make Ishmael a great nation.

Hagar wasn’t part of God’s original plan, nor was Ishmael, but despite this, God didn’t cast them aside. Instead, He stepped into Hagar’s story in a powerful and personal way. He met her not once, but twice, in the wilderness. In response, Hagar declared, “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Hagar’s life was marked by struggle and rejection, but also by God’s incredible faithfulness. Her story reminds us that no matter how rejected or unseen we feel, God sees us, meets us where we are, and redeems our story in ways we could never imagine.

Hagar's story underscores that God can meet us anywhere, and as we see in many other Bible stories, the wilderness is often where God does some of His most transformative work. In that parched, dry place, God shows up and brings everlasting life.This story also demonstrates that God will meet us again and again in the wilderness. As often as we need Him, He will be there. There is no limit to His provision, care, and compassion.

I’ve certainly had seasons in my life where I haven’t felt seen by others, where I’ve faced rejection, and where I’ve felt like I didn’t measure up. As my faith has grown and I’ve come to better understand who I am and to whom I belong, I am deeply grateful for a God who sees me. So, remember this: no matter how you feel about your situation or how others perceive you—God sees you!