If you feel far from God today —

He’s okay with that.  You can draw near Him and tell Him, “I feel far away from You.”  Jesus welcomes your doubts, confusion, frustrations, and questions.  He invites you in any and every condition.

If you’re mad at God today —

He’s okay with that.  He made you an emotional being, and more than that, a human being.  You can vent to Him and He won’t bite your head off.  He doesn’t want you to pretend your feelings at Him.

If you’ve messed up on God today —

He’s still rooting for you.  He still wants to work on this together.  He will receive you the very second after you mess it up.  Your moment of defeat matters less than the moment right after.  He has grace to pick you up, to dust you off, to keep you moving towards Him.  Choose grace.

If you haven’t spoken with God in an embarrassingly long time —

He’s okay with that too.  You have right now.  He’s given you this moment to talk to Him.  Don’t wait another second.  Find the endless well of joy that’s waiting.

If it’s all gone upside-down and life has been unfair —

Please don’t write off God just yet.  You will need more grace and not less.  You will need more help, more strength, more wisdom, more truth, and not less.  Go to the source.  Please don’t let your life throw you around into a lesser version of you, but let God say who you are amidst your surroundings.

If you don’t like yourself today —

God loved you before you stepped into the room.  God pre-approved of you before you did a single thing.  God will love you when no one else does.  There is nothing you could do to change His heart towards you: and it’s His unchanging heart that will change you.

If you’re not sure that God loves you today —

See the cross. See Jesus.  All our fears, worries, hurt, injustice, and rebellion are answered there.  Jesus knew what we would do to him: but He set this plan in motion before time to be with you for eternity.  The cross has removed every single obstacle between us and Him.  Jesus achieved the cosmic victory of demolishing sin, Satan, and death, for your good and for His glory.  Know this love, and everything else will be okay.

— J