Casandra Martin

I saw the neatest sign yesterday. It said, “God is up to something good.” Our society seems increasingly entrenched in the negative. Politicians throw mud at each other. Wall Street spins dire reports. Environmentalists declare that the world is falling apart. Medical experts warn about the latest diseases. The news is a ranking of worst stories of the day. It is enough to make you want to crawl back into bed, pull up the covers, and never open your eyes again. Instead of listening to the news pundits and experts today, listen for the One who is truly in control of it all. God is up to something good. Watch the change in seasons and smile. God is up to something good. Sing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ at the top of your lungs. God is up to something good. Laugh with a friend, pay attention to something beautiful, stop and count your blessings. God is up to something good. There will always be bad news. But our God is always up to something good.

My Jesus Resolution today is to keep my heart open for the something good God wants to work in me. I am going to focus on the positive, count my blessings, and be thankful at least once every hour of this day. It is easy to get pulled into negative thinking. Remembering that God is up to something good makes my heart beat a little faster and my eyes open a little wider. So turn off the news and remember – God is up to something good – in you!

I just got off the phone with my daughter. I love talking to her. She is away at school and doing well. She calls every day and we talk. Sometimes it is just for a few minutes. Just a moment to touch base and connect with home. Other days find us on the phone for a long time. There are struggles to talk about, heartache to pray over, encouragement to be given, and laughter to be shared. I look forward to hearing her voice every time.

I am thankful for the way we talk and how it binds our hearts together. Sometimes she calls to say something silly. This last week, there was a call to share deep sorrow. Some days she is down and needs encouragement, a pep talk, or a cheerleader. Other times, she just needs a hug or a laugh or a reminder that home is not as far away as it seems.

Prayer is a lot like calling home. It opens the door and allows us to connect to God. In prayer, we pour out our hearts and allow God to pour Himself into us. We share our thoughts, hurts, desires, and struggles and ask God to shape how we see our days. We can talk to Him about what we find discouraging, disheartening, and dismaying. Prayer can be filled with laughter, thanksgiving, and joy. In prayer, God reminds us that home is not as far away as it sometimes seems.

My Jesus Resolution today is to “call home.” I am going to be intentional about talking to my Father, sharing my heart, and delighting in the connection that prayer provides. It is okay if I want to call about something silly. I can go to Him if I need to share heartbreak and tears. What my daughter has taught me is to see that time on the phone through God’s eyes. I delight in the conversation, whatever it may be. God delights in the time you spend talking together as well. Call home today. Someone is waiting to hear your voice.

Sometimes it is hard to see God at work. Circumstances, fear, frustration, or other people can make it difficult to find His fingerprints on our days. Rest assured – He is there. He is moving for your good right this minute. He is at work all around you, drawing your heart to His heart. Here is a list of ten things you can be sure God is doing for you this very day.

  1. Loving you

  2. Washing away your sins

  3. Delighting in calling you His child

  4. Blessing you

  5. Holding you close

  6. Inviting you closer

  7. Igniting beauty just for you

  8. Working out His purpose for you in this world

  9. Protecting you from the evil one

10. Transforming you to look like Jesus

My Jesus Resolution today is open my heart and my eyes to the way God is at work around me. I am going to rejoice in the fact that He loves me, calls me His own, and is working out His good purpose in my life. Today I am going to look for five more things that I can add to my ‘What God is Doing’ list. I am excited to discover how He will touch my day. What is God doing in your day today?

I am always amazed at the Israelites. After months of watching the Lord overpower the gods of Egypt, the people of God walk on dry ground through a sea parted by His hand. They stand on the other side, watching as their enemy is washed away. They march in freedom, led by the cloud and pillar of His presence, toward the land of promise. They are a free people, a redeemed people, a people with a hope and a future.

Three days later, they start complaining. As their thirst grows, so do their doubts about God’s good intentions toward them. They wonder out loud about God’s wisdom, question His power, and begin to look longingly back at Egypt. They stand in the presence of the One who turned the Nile into blood and parted the waters of the Red Sea, unsure if He can provide water in the desert.

Of course, He does. He brings water from a rock. He sends manna and quail to feed their hunger. He guides them by day, provides light in the darkness, protects them from enemies, and offers them His heart. And over and over again, instead of praise and surrender, their response is arguing and complaining.

How many times do I stand in their shoes? I want to believe that if I experienced what they did, I would be a pillar of faith, resolute in my desire to serve the Lord. In reality, I am too much like them. God works in my life every day. He answers prayers, provides for my needs, guides my feet, creates a path through difficulties, and offers me His heart. Each exercise of His goodness should cement my heart in His faithfulness and secure my soul in His love. Too often, I complain. I argue about timing, demand answers to my questions, am impatient when called to wait, and grumble about not getting what I want.

Philippians 2:14 says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” Everything is a big word. God calls me to be content instead of complaining. He offers opportunities for adoration in moments when I tend to argue. He wants me to take His hand, knowing that wherever I walk today, He will be with me, provide for me, and show me the best path to His heart.

My Jesus Resolution today is to go through the whole day without complaining. I am going to watch my tongue and put a guard around my heart. I am going to refocus my eyes and look for the ways God is already at work around me. I am going to wait with joy, pray with persistence, and be thankful in everything. Today I am going to enter the No Complaining Zone. Will you walk with me?

Much to my kids’ dismay (and my delight), school has started. Our house is once again filled with homework, backpacks, practices, brown-bag lunches, and sleepy eyes looking for the bus.

As my children go back into the classroom, I pray for more than their safety, their teachers, and what they will learn. I pray that they will see God around every corner. I long for them to be aware of His presence, to rely on His power, and embed themselves fully in His holiness. I want them to live out 2 Corinthians 2:14 – that as they walk through the hallways, classrooms, locker rooms, and cafeterias of their schools, they will spread everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. I pray that they will carry Christ with them wherever they go, and that their lives will be so permeated with Him that they can’t help but leave behind the sweet scent of His presence.

In praying for my children, I realize that I need to pray about my own influence. I won’t walk through a school today, but I will move down the aisles of a grocery store, go to the post office, step into my workplace, and walk through my neighborhood. What will I leave behind?

My Jesus Resolution today is to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere I go. I want to be so filled with Jesus that I smell like Him. I will pray today that I will be so transparent that when others see me, they only see Jesus.

Sometimes it is just overwhelming. Deadlines loom, problems stack up, discouragement grows, and exhaustion sets in. The days crawl by as the battle drags on and on. It seems like the enemy gains strength while you just get tired. The shadows get bigger. The struggle seems more menacing. The answers seem farther away than ever. Giants come in all shapes and sizes. Some show up as family struggles, money concerns, health problems, or work issues. Others poke at our hearts through temptation, worry, frustration, or stress. Everybody’s giant is different, but remarkably similar. Big and scary, our giants intimidate us, isolate us, and make us feel helpless.

But this is where the light of God shines brightest. He tells us in 2 Chronicles 32:7b-8, “Do not be afraid or discouraged…for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”

The giant may loom large, but we are never alone. The giant may snarl and snap, but we can stand secure in the arms of our God. The giant may cast a very long shadow, but our God is bigger and stronger. There is a greater power with us. God isn’t a neutral spectator waiting to see which side might have the advantage. He wades into our hearts, sweeps us into His arms, and promises to fight our battles. He is better than Prince Charming, a knight in shining armor, and the good guy in the white hat all rolled into one. God stands on our side. He is for us. Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Tell that to your giant.

My Jesus Resolution today is to compare the size of my giant with the size of my God. I am not going to let discouragement, frustration, and fear pull my eyes away from the Lord. I am going to hide in His shadow, rely on His love, and keep reminding myself that God is bigger.

Did you do dot-to-dots when you were a kid? You know, the pictures that sprang to life as you moved your pencil around the page connecting the numbered dots. If you tried to jump ahead or skip a number, the picture became distorted. Follow the pattern, and the whole picture takes shape before your eyes.

Looking for God in our days is a little like connecting the dots. We have to pay attention to the little movements that create His big picture. It takes practice to see the links between prayers and answers, needs and provision, delight and His presence. So often, I move through my day and miss it. I ask God to move, but don’t keep my eyes open. I pour out requests and then fail to see the answers He provides. But the more I pay attention, the more interconnected the pieces of my day become.

It turns out that God shapes each day as an adventure in finding Him. He marks His presence all throughout our days, hoping that we will notice. He pours blessing after blessing into our minutes, each one a call to our hearts. He wants us to move through the sequence of our days filled with anticipation at seeing what picture He is shaping in our lives.

There is no magic formula for learning to connect the dots. It just takes practice. Throughout the day, stop and ask yourself, “Is that God?” If it is good and true, opens your eyes to His presence, and is consistent with God’s character and His Word, then mark it down as a God “dot” in your day. At the end of the day, connect the dots. I guarantee that every day the picture that comes to life will be a picture of Jesus.

My Jesus Resolution today is to ask more often, “Is that God?” I want to pay attention to His movement, be aware of His presence, and have open eyes to see where He intersects my day. I don’t want to jump ahead of God. Too often I try to skip numbers in a hurry to be done with the picture. Today I am going to let God walk me dot-by-dot through the image He is impressing on my heart. I am going to connect the dots so I can see Jesus.

I have been reading through the prophets. It is difficult to listen to the voices of God’s men plead, argue, chastise, and weep at the hard hearts of God’s people. The pages are filled with sobering descriptions of how sin breaks the heart of God, the judgments that will fall heavily on the land, and the lengths God will go to reclaim the love of His children.

Amidst all the dire warnings and calls to repentance, there are an amazing number of promises. One particular promise has become my prayer. Jeremiah 24:7a says, “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD.”  Isn’t that stunning? I want that. I want a heart that knows the Lord – a heart that seeks His face, longs for His presence, and delights in the adventure of learning more about Him.

Having a heart that knows God will require some major renovation at the very core of who I am. Selfishness and pride must be cleared away. My focus has to be redirected. My desire for control and self-sufficiency will need to be stripped away. The grace of Jesus will have to reach in deeply and touch all of the sticky, grimy, slippery places and shape a new heart – a heart that knows Him.

It is a little scary to ask God for transformation. It means opening my life to His power, His direction, and His holiness. But the alternative is written all over the pages of the prophets. What they teach me is that a heart that knows Him is worth the surrender, because knowing Him is pure joy.

My Jesus Resolution today is to pray that God will give me a heart that knows Him. I want to open up my life to the transformation He has in mind for me. I want my deepest desire to be to know Him. I want my focus to be set on seeking His face. In order for God’s promise to be a reality in my life, I will need to put all my desires, the entirety of my focus, and the rhythm of my days in His hands and ask Him to shape them according to His good purpose for me. God always keeps His promises. The question today is whether I will open up my heart enough for them to take deep root in me.

You are deeply loved. God’s passion for you spills over into every part of your day. The blessings you enjoy are evidence of His care. His power raises the sun, paints the flowers, and puts sparkle into the stars – just for you. He has seen you at your best, and at your worst. He loves you. He knows what you look like in the morning. He sees you doing laundry, cooking dinner, driving your car, and checking your mail. He loves you through all of it. He sees the deep wounds sin leaves on your heart. He aches as He watches the chains of slavery wrap tighter around your soul. He still loves you. He loves you when walk away from Him. He loves you when you run toward His open arms.

He loves you so much. The cross stands as proof of His love. He saw your chains, checked His heart, and made His way toward your Egypt. He fought the dragon, endured the thorns, and spent three nights in a tomb in order to set you free. He loves you. He has been pursuing you your entire life. He calls you name. He holds out His hand. He brushes your cheek with the wind. His dream, His purpose, and His plan all center on bringing you home. He loves you, and He longs to see you free indeed.

^“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”   – John 8:36

This is the life He created you to share with Him. This is the intense desire of His heart. You are the reason He made the journey, endured the thorns, and fought the dragon. Being free indeed means saying “Yes” to Jesus. Every minute. Every day. For the rest of your life.

My Jesus Resolution today is to say “yes” to the set free life Jesus has in mind for me. Being free indeed is, in its essence, the freedom to choose Jesus. Every day you get to choose who you are going to follow. Every day you get to pick where to set your focus. Every day you get to decide which vision you are going to let define your life. Being free indeed is the every day choice to see Jesus, follow Jesus, imitate Jesus, love Jesus, praise Jesus, bow before Jesus, surrender to Jesus, listen to Jesus, be transformed by Jesus, and walk like Jesus.

Note – Today’s thoughts come from my new book Set Free that was released this week. Walking with the Israelites as they are released from Egyptian captivity gives us an amazing picture of how God wants to set us free through the cross today. Click on the WOW Books page on my website – www.casandramartin.com – for more information.

It was a picture of a good deed that caught my eye. College students were handing out water to people displaced and devastated by floods. I love to see goodness highlighted in our world. Glimpses of God in the newspaper.

My heart began to break as I scanned the news stores that filled the space on either side of the picture. On the left was an article about clearing the legal pathway for same-sex unions. On the right was a story about the ease with which a new abortion pill passed through the hands of regulators on its way to market. By the bottom of the page, I was on my knees.

How do you read the newspaper, watch the six-o’clock news, or process the current event updates on the internet? This is a lesson God has been teaching my heart. Too often, we read the news and feel helpless. Movers and shakers in other places are making decisions that will ultimately touch the core of who we are as a nation and we can’t do anything about it. Sometimes, we see a story, feel sympathy, shrug our shoulders, and move on. Other times, we turn it all off, pretending that what we don’t know doesn’t affect us.

God wants us to see the news through His eyes. Psalm 119:136 says, “Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.” Every headline is an opportunity to invite God into the situation. We may not be able to go to Washington, the state capitol, or city hall, but God is already there. We can ask that His power, presence, and purpose shape people’s thinking, motives, and actions. We can jumpstart the repentance and confession our society so desperately needs by looking in the mirror. We can marvel at God’s patience and mercy as He provides more time for hearts to come to know Jesus as Lord.

My Jesus Resolution today is to see the headlines as an invitation from God to bring the events of the world to Him. I am going to pray the headlines – use them as stepping stones into prayer. I am going to ask God to bring the full weight of His kingdom to bear on our society, beginning with my heart. The news isn’t scary. A world that doesn’t know God is scary. But even in a society that doesn’t acknowledge Him or bow before Him, He is at work. I am going to look at the stories in the newspaper today as clues from God about what is touching His heart, and let those headlines guide my heart deeper into His presence.