(Even When You Don’t Feel Like It)
I didn’t fall short by lunchtime today. I fell short about 5 seconds after waking up.
I opened my eyes with a heavy heart, still carrying the sting of a betrayal I thought I had already handed over to God. But instead of meeting the morning with mercy, I sat in the pain. I didn't pray. I didn't worship. I didn't surrender. I picked up my phone to turn off my alarm and got smacked by the verse of the day:
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” — 1 Peter 5:7
Same verse I read the night before.
Same one I said I'd walk in.
But I didn't.
It's wild how fast we drift. From the promise of peace to the weight of our own emotions, just like that. And it's humbling when the verse you claimed last night ends up being the very one you ignore first thing in the morning. My Lock Screen was basically like, "You gonna follow the instructions or not?"
Galatians 5:17 says, "The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions."
We all feel that war. I felt it before I even got to coffee.
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” — Romans 8:5
Because notice, the verse doesn't say "read the instructions." It says follow them. It's not enough to read the instructions. Jesus didn't call us to read them… He called us to follow them.
But when I did, when I shifted my focus back to the Word, peace came. Not because the ache disappeared, but because God started carrying it. And when my focus drifted again, that peace faded. Every time.
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You.”
— Isaiah 26:3
That's not a suggestion. That's a promise with a condition. Peace comes when we fix our thoughts on Him.
The Bible Isn't Just God's Book. It Is His Word.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." — John 1:1
The Bible is alive. Not because it changes, but because it meets you wherever you are. You can read the same verse from two completely different places in life, and it will speak directly to you both times, in totally different ways... but with the same truth.
You can read one verse in heartbreak and hear "Be still." Then read the same verse in healing and hear "Get up."
Like when Jesus said:
"Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock..." — Matthew 7:24
Depending on what season you're in, that can hit as a reminder that you need resilience, or wisdom before making a big decision, or that your marriage needs a stronger foundation, or that your faith is being tested and it's time to dig deep. That's five verses, and they can shift your whole day.
Jesus is the only foundation that won't crack... especially if you live in southeast Texas, you know how foundations shift. But His doesn't.
It Doesn't Keep Up with Culture. It Confronts It.
Society hasn’t changed all that much. It’s always been full of pride, confusion, lust, and power games. Paul wrote Romans while surrounded by it. He said:
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." — Romans 12:2
We act like things are worse now. Truth is, society has always been sinful. Paul wasn't writing Romans from a coffee shop in the suburbs. He was writing to believers in a perverted Roman empire filled with corruption, idol worship, and immorality.
It wasn’t just about Rome back then. It’s about us now - not much has changed.
Yeah, and I thought my family was jacked up.
You can’t get ten pages into the Bible without seeing the fallout of disobedience. God creates everything beautiful and harmonious, and before you can even settle in, Adam and Eve betray Him. The first family ends in murder when Cain kills Abel—and that was long before we could blame Grand Theft Auto or violent video games.
It's not the games. It's the human heart.
But let's not forget, the human heart made those games. The same heart that loves stories full of betrayal, revenge, lust, greed, and pride... because the flesh still wants what it shouldn't.
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" — Jeremiah 17:9
King David didn't fall because society led him there. His own desires did. Babylon didn't collapse because of political mistakes. It fell from pride and wickedness. Hosea's wife, Gomer, didn't need Maury to reveal the paternity test. Her sin was obvious, public, and painful. But God used their story to show how faithful He is even when we cheat on Him with the world.
We keep trying to blame video games or the news cycle, but let's be honest... it's not the culture or the technology. It's the human heart. But the human heart made those games. It feeds the flesh in ways that starve the spirit.
And yet...
Still. God. Uses. People. Like. Us.
If you think the Bible is just a book of perfect people doing holy things, you haven’t read it closely. The bible is full of messy, broken people.
- Adam and Eve disobeyed God, lied, and hid in shame—but God still covered them and promised a Savior.
- Cain murdered his brother out of jealousy—before there was ever a weapon or a motive board on Dateline. God still showed mercy.
- Noah got drunk after the flood—but he found favor with God and built the ark that saved humanity.
- Abraham lied—twice—to save his own neck and put his wife in danger. Still, God made him the father of many nations.
- Sarah laughed in disbelief at God’s promise—but still gave birth to Isaac in her old age.
- Lot offered up his daughters to strangers. His story ended in a cave full of shame—but God still pulled him out of the fire.
- Jacob lied, schemed, and manipulated his way into a blessing—but God still renamed him Israel and made him a patriarch.
- Joseph’s brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery—God used their betrayal to save them from famine.
- Moses had a temper and killed a man—but still stood face to face with God and led a nation out of slavery.
- Miriam talked behind Moses’ back and got struck with leprosy—but God healed and restored her.
- Rahab was a prostitute—but she hid the Israelite spies and ended up in the genealogy of Jesus.
- Samson was ruled by pride, lust, and bad decisions—but God still used him in the end to bring down the enemy.
- Gideon was scared and needed sign after sign—but God still called him “mighty warrior.”
- Ruth was a widowed outsider—God made her the great-grandmother of King David.
- Hannah was bitter and broken—but she poured it out in prayer, and God gave her Samuel.
- David committed adultery, lied, and had a man killed to cover it up. Still, God called him a man after His own heart.
- Solomon had God-given wisdom… and 700 wives. His heart strayed, but God still let him build the temple.
- Elijah stood bold on Mount Carmel and curled up in despair the next day. God still whispered to him.
- Jonah ran hard in the opposite direction of his calling—God still used him to save a whole city.
- Jeremiah was depressed, anxious, and wept through most of his ministry—but he never stopped speaking truth.
- Hosea married Gomer, who cheated on him again and again—and God used that mess to show His love for an unfaithful people.
- Daniel was thrown to the lions for praying, and God shut their mouths to show the world who’s in charge.
- Esther was an orphaned exile who risked everything—and God used her to save her people.
- The woman at the well had five husbands and was shacking up with a sixth—but Jesus met her right there and changed everything.
- Mary Magdalene had seven demons cast out—but she was the first to see the risen Jesus.
- Martha was worried, busy, and distracted—Jesus still loved her deeply and spoke truth into her chaos.
- Zacchaeus was a shady tax thief hiding in a tree—and Jesus called him by name and went to dinner with him.
- Thomas doubted even with the evidence—but Jesus still let him touch the scars.
- The thief on the cross never got his act together—Jesus still promised him paradise.
- The disciples were shady, prideful, impulsive, and most of them ran away when things got hard. James and John wanted seats of power, Peter cut off a man’s ear, Thomas doubted, Judas betrayed Jesus, and the rest scattered like roaches when the cross got real. But Jesus still chose them, empowered them, and used them to change the world.
- And Paul… he literally hunted down Christians—dragged them from homes, threw them in prison, and gave the green light to Stephen’s death. Yet after encountering Jesus, Paul became the one who wrote the letters we still lean on today—including Romans, the one we’ve been quoting. That’s redemption. That’s grace.
There's no such thing as too far gone. Just people who stop turning back. The mess wasn’t the end of their story. It was the beginning of God's mercy.
The Bible doesn’t hide the mess. It speaks into it.
And the way it all comes together? It’s not random.
The Bible wasn't written in the age of Google Translate and Dropbox. It contains over 63,000 cross-references, written in three languages, over three continents, across roughly 1,500 years by over 40 different authors... and still tells one, clear story.
Try pulling that off without divine intervention. The only way it all fits is because it was authored by God. Try pulling that off without Google Docs or group texts. You can’t. The ONLY way it all fits is because it was authored by God. Only God could do that.
Isaiah 53 was written 700 years before Jesus walked the earth—and it described His suffering in detail. Psalm 22 described crucifixion before it even existed. And Jesus quoted it on the cross:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Nobody’s rifling through a Rolodex of Scriptures while hanging on a cross. He knew that Word by heart—because He is the Word.
Only God could write a story like that.
So today, when my heart was heavy and I fell short before coffee, God reminded me:
I’m still here. I haven’t left. And I’m not done.
This Word? It’s not ancient advice. It’s alive.
It calls me out and calls me back.
It humbles me and holds me up. It doesn't bend with the times. It stands… because it's already stood the test of time.
A Prayer for Trusting God in the Mess
Father,
Thank You for Your Word—not just as ancient text, but as living, breathing truth.
Thank You for loving us in our weakness, for calling us back when we wander, and for reminding us over and over to fix our focus on You.
Forgive me for the moments I run to my feelings before I run to You.
Help me not just to read Your Word, but to follow it, trust it, and live it—especially when my heart feels heavy.
Keep my eyes on what is true.
Keep my heart soft, even when it hurts.
Keep reminding me that You are the Rock beneath my feet—even when the storms come.
You’ve never failed me, and You won’t start now.
Let my life reflect that truth.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
