After walking into a sandwich shop, I sensed the Holy Spirit nudging me to reach out to the young man who took our order. Unsure of how to start, I gathered my food and followed my husband to the patio area. Shortly after we sat down, the same young man came outside to sweep the area. I set aside my fear and began an unscripted conversation. In this unexpected moment, God provided the opportunity for us to discuss how Jesus’ love and the power of the Holy Spirit could help the young man overcome the situations he was facing.

Sharing our faith in Christ has often been reduced to point-by-point methods or relegated to a particular church department. When Jesus told us, however, to be “dressed for service and keep [our] lamps burning” (Luke 12:35), He intended for us to make a connection between our readiness and His instruction to give testimony about who He is everywhere we go (Matthew 5:14-15, 28:19-20).

For some believers in Jesus, the threat of death or imprisonment for sharing Christ’s love is painfully real. For others, the fear of rejection alone drives us into hiding. We may well understand Jesus’ call to a living faith (Luke 12:2-3), but a relationship with Him that’s vibrant and healthy will eventually bring us to a place of risk—the place of sharing our love for Him in unexpected encounters with others. When we understand the strength of His love for us (Luke 12:7), we’re able to exchange fear for courage (Luke 12:4,11).

Being faithful stewards of God’s message begins with cherishing our own relationship with Jesus (Luke 12:42). May we overcome our fear of sharing our faith by leaning confidently on Him and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Each of us is an original from God’s hand. There are no self-made men or women. No one ever became talented, buffed, or bright all by himself or herself. God made each of us all by Himself. He thought of us and formed us out of His unspeakable love.

God made your body, mind, and soul. And He isn’t done with you; He is still making you. His single-minded purpose is our maturity: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). God is making you braver, stronger, purer, more peaceful, more loving, less selfish—the kind of person you’ve perhaps always wanted to be.

“[God’s] unfailing love continues forever and his faithfulness continues to each generation” (Ps. 100:5 nlt). God has always loved you (“forever” goes both ways), and He will be faithful to you to the end.

You’ve been given a love that lasts forever and a God who will never give up on you. That’s a good reason to have joy and to “come before him with joyful songs”! (v. 2).

If you can’t carry a tune, just give Him a shout-out: “Shout for joy to the Lord” (v. 1).

My son and I constructed a model of the solar system in which each planet is aligned near the next. Looking at this contraption, one might think that real planets aren’t very far from each other. But that’s not the case: if the Sun was the size of a basketball, the bb-sized Earth would be located 31 yards away, and the small planetoid Pluto would be 1,232 yards away! The distances between planets are vast, almost beyond our ability to comprehend.

In Psalm 36, David wrote, “Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths” (Psalm 36:5-6). But the full impact of these descriptions can be lost on modern-day people, because astronauts have soared into the skies and beyond, climbers have scaled the highest mountains, and oceanographers have plumbed the depths of the oceans. So hearing God’s attributes described in this way might not immediately communicate to us the wonder of who He is.

But in David’s age, all of these locations were completely unknown—no one of his time knew what was truly in the heavens and beyond or what lay in the great ocean depths. David was stating that God’s love is incomprehensibly big, like the vast uncharted regions of space. As the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 3, it’s a love that surpasses knowledge. What an astounding thought—as vast as human knowledge and intellect are, they’re incapable of fully grasping God’s faithfulness, righteousness, justice, and love.

What’s even more astounding is that this infinite God is on our side—and if such an incomprehensibly wonderful God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

When I think of protection, I don’t automatically think of a bird’s feathers. Though a bird’s feathers might seem like a flimsy form of protection, there is more to them than meets the eye.

Bird feathers are an amazing example of God’s design. Feathers have a smooth part and a fluffy part. The smooth part of the feather has stiff barbs with tiny hooks that lock together like the prongs of a zipper. The fluffy part keeps a bird warm. Together both parts of the feather protect the bird from wind and rain. But many baby birds are covered in a fluffy down and their feathers haven’t fully developed. So a mother bird has to cover them in the nest with her own feathers to protect them from wind and rain.

The image of God “[covering] us with his feathers” in Psalm 91:4 and in other Bible passages (see Ps. 17:8) is one of comfort and protection. The image that comes to mind is a mother bird covering her little ones with her feathers. Like a parent whose arms are a safe place to retreat from a scary storm or a hurt, God’s comforting presence provides safety and protection from life’s emotional storms.

Though we go through trouble and heartache, we can face them without fear as long as our faces are turned toward God. He is our “refuge” (91:2, 4, 9).

Our faces can give clues to our life experiences. They reveal our emotions, hint at our age, and indicate whether or not we’ve led difficult lives. They can also hint at whether or not we’ve been with God. I once had a co-worker at my workplace ask why I was so joyful and smiling all the time. His question caught me off guard; I wasn’t aware my face was revealing anything. I paused, and then answered, “Jesus.” He laughed off my reply and then asked, “No, really, why?” I reiterated, “Jesus.”

On Mount Sinai, Moses spent some incredible moments with God. When he came down from the mountain, those who saw him noticed that, “His face was radiant because he had spoken to the Lord” (Exodus 34:29). God’s light and life streamed in and through Moses. His face literally glowed with the glory of God.

In the New Testament we read that when Stephen, the first martyr, stood before his accusers, “everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s” (Acts 6:15). The bright and loving wisdom on Moses’ and Stephen’s faces revealed God’s glory—that they’d been with Him. Peter, James, and John also glimpsed such radiance on Jesus’ face. Matthew 17:2 recounts that “Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.”

Ecclesiastes 8:1 declares, “Wisdom lights up a person’s face, softening its harshness.” Biblical and experiential accounts demonstrate that the more we grow in our relationship with Jesus (John 17:3), the more our lives and faces will radiate Him. They will metaphorically, and one day literally, reveal His glory.

“Miracles are everywhere,” declared the actress who portrayed Christy Beam in the movie Miracles from Heaven. The film is based on the true life experiences of the Beam family after middle daughter Annabel contracted an incurable intestinal disorder that was inexplicably healed after a death-defying fall. Christy realized that in focusing on the illness, she’d missed other “miracles” the family had encountered before her healing. Although miracles are typically defined only as clearly supernatural interventions, Christy recognized that events that helped her family survive the trial were equally amazing because they revealed God’s hand in the midst of their pain.

The author of Psalm 105 similarly encourages his audience, in light of the history of God’s miraculous faithfulness to His people, to “give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness, [and] let the whole world know what he has done” (Psalm 105:1). Keeping His promise to give Abraham’s descendants the land of Canaan (Psalm 105:11), God preserved the nation by sending Joseph to prepare a place for them in Egypt when famine overtook their land (Psalm 105:17-22). When the Egyptians enslaved the expanding Israelite nation, God sent Moses and Aaron to deliver them with a series of stunning miracles (Psalm 105:24-38). Once out of Egypt, God sustained His people, providing food and water in a barren wilderness, and ultimately leading them successfully into the Promised Land (Psalm 105:39-45).

When we take our eyes off our problems and instead focus on the acts of God in our lives, we will begin to see miracles of His goodness. As we uncover these treasures, may we also sing out in praise to the One who watches over and lovingly cares for us

The doctor’s words landed in her heart with a thud. It was cancer. Her world stopped as she thought of her husband and children. They had prayed diligently, hoping for a different outcome. What would they do? With tears streaming down her face, she said softly, “God, this is beyond our control. Please be our strength.”

What do we do when the prognosis is devastating, when our circumstances are beyond our control? Where do we turn when the outlook seems hopeless?

The prophet Habakkuk’s situation was out of his control, and the fear that he felt terrified him. The coming judgment would be catastrophic (Hab. 3:16–17). Yet, in the midst of the impending chaos, Habakkuk made a choice to live by his faith (2:4) and rejoice in God (3:18). He did not place his confidence and faith in his circumstances, ability, or resources, but in the goodness and greatness of God. His trust in God compelled him to proclaim: “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (v. 19).

When we are faced with difficult circumstances—sickness, family crisis, financial trouble—we, too, have only to place our faith and trust in God. He is with us in everything we face.

In Australia, it can take hours to drive between towns and fatigue can lead to accidents. So at busy holiday times rest stops are set up on major highways with volunteers offering free coffee. My wife, Merryn, and I grew to enjoy these stops during our long drives there.

On one trip, we pulled in and walked over to order our coffee. An attendant handed the two cups over, and then asked me for two dollars. I asked why. She pointed to the small print on the sign. At this stop, only the driver got free coffee; you had to pay for passengers. Annoyed, I told her this was false advertising, paid the two dollars, and walked off. Back at the car, Merryn pointed out my error: I had turned a gift into an entitlement and become ungrateful for what I received. She was right.

When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, Moses urged them to be a grateful people (Deut. 8:10). Thanks to the blessings of God, the land was abundant, but they could easily treat this prosperity as something they deserved (vv. 17–18). From this, the Jews developed a practice of giving thanks for every meal, no matter how small. For them, it was all a gift.

I went back to the woman and apologized. A free cup of coffee was a gift I didn’t deserve—and something for which to be thankful.

As we exited the parking lot, my husband slowed the car to wait for a young woman riding her bike. When Tom nodded to indicate she could go first, she smiled, waved, and rode on. Moments later, the driver from a parked SUV threw his door open, knocking the young bicyclist to the pavement. Her legs bleeding, she cried as she examined her bent-up bike.

Later, we reflected on the accident: If only we had made her wait . . . If only the driver had looked before opening his door. If only . . . Difficulties catch us up in a cycle of second-guessing ourselves. If only I had known my child was with teens who were drinking . . . If only we had found the cancer earlier . . .

When unexpected trouble comes, we sometimes question the goodness of God. We may even feel the despair that Martha and Mary experienced when their brother died. Oh, if Jesus had only come when He first found out that Lazarus was sick! (John 11:21, 32).

Like Martha and Mary, we don’t always understand why hard things happen to us. But we can rest in the knowledge that God is working out His purposes for a greater good. In every circumstance, we can trust the wisdom of our faithful and loving God.

During the dark days of the communist regime in Romania, a light shone from the souls of believers in Jesus. Two believers, Nicolae Moldoveanu and Richard Wurmbrand, were lying face down on the ground in a prison courtyard on a cold December day. Their crime was their belief in Christ. To distract himself from the cold, Nicolae prayed that God would give him a song. Once they were finally allowed to return to their cell, he shared the song with Richard: “Not only future heaven to be in my speech daily, but may I have heaven and a holy celebration in life right here!”

Paul wrote to the church in Philippi while he was under house arrest for sharing the good news about Jesus. One would expect the apostle to be discouraged or at least focused on his difficulties. Yet his attitude was completely different. He stated, “The message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice” (Philippians 1:18). What made Paul react this way in the midst of persecution?

First, he was completely confident that God was with him in every circumstance. Throughout this letter, Paul exudes a strong faith based on his close relationship with Him and encourages the Philippians to, instead of worrying, “pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6).

Second, he was absolutely sure that Jesus was worth it all. Paul grasped the sacrificial nature of the crucifixion, the amazing power of the resurrection, and knew that his life would be empty without Christ. And this assurance caused him to live only for Jesus (Philippians 1:21).

May we also come to know Jesus at such deep a level that we would consider it a privilege to suffer for Him! (Philippians 1:29).

I remember my father’s face. It was hard to read. He was a kind man, but stoic and self-contained. As a child, I often searched his face, looking for a smile or other show of affection. Faces are us. A frown, a sullen look, a smile, and crinkly eyes reveal what we feel about others. Our faces are our “tell.”

Asaph, the author of Psalm 80, was distraught and wanted to see the Lord’s face. He looked north from his vantage point in Jerusalem and saw Judah’s sister-state, Israel, collapse under the weight of the Assyrian Empire. With her buffer state gone, Judah was vulnerable to invasion from all sides—Assyria from the north, Egypt from the south, and the Arab nations from the east. She was outnumbered and outmatched.

Asaph gathered up his fears in a prayer, three times repeated (80:3, 7, 19), “Make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” (Or, in other words, let me see Your smile.)

It’s good to look away from our fears and search our heavenly Father’s face. The best way to see God’s face is to look at the cross. The cross is His “tell” (John 3:16).

So know this: When your Father looks at you, He has a great big smile on His face. You’re very safe!