“To move to a place like this—that girl must be Xena: Warrior Princess.” I heard the compliment, if that’s what you’d call it, in echoes through the stairwell of our new home. We were planning to move in a few months and had come to visit our landing place—an apartment building that housed a tiny […]

Jonah 4 provides a striking picture. God appoints a plant to give Jonah shade, and Jonah greatly enjoys its comfort. But the next day, God appoints a worm to destroy the plant. Deprived of its shade, Jonah becomes furious and cries out, “It is better for me to die than to live” (Jon. 4:8). Jonah’s […]

My own moral failings, intrusive thoughts, and moments of doubt have sometimes left me feeling worthless and weak. In those moments, I can’t help but feel that God is ashamed of me or distant. And in my weakness, I ask myself, “How can I hold on to Him more earnestly?” The Bible teaches clearly that […]