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Archive for the ‘Trusting God’ Category

Posted on: December 17th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
Jesus is on the throne

Jesus is on the throne, now and forever. It seems I’ve been reminded of this continually lately. Life’s circumstances have clouded my vision a bit, but with this simple reminder, I have consistently been brought back to the truth. Troubles lose their weight when we see and believe this reality deep within our souls. This truth gives us a heavenly perspective on the circumstances we face and allows us the ability to endure trials with confident assurance that our God is in control. Now, I cannot pretend to know all the reasons why God allows difficulties into our lives, but when confronted with them, I often think about what Paul wrote to the church in Philippi. He said, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance…

Posted on: December 9th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
Loved

Last week, I wrote about how important it is to engage in the pursuit to know God. About how we can use a Biblically accurate understanding of who God is to see the world and ourselves as they truly are. All truth, remember, begins and ends with God. There is, of course, so much to know about our God. Truly, we will never be able to fully grasp all that He is, and I think that’s okay. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a God who is able to be fully grasped by a mind limited by humanity. I love how J.I. Packer put it. He said, “A God whom we could understand exhaustively, and whose revelation of Himself confronted us with no mysteries whatsoever, would be a God in man’s image, and therefore an imaginary God, not the God of the Bible at all.” But God does reveal Himself to both…

Posted on: November 17th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
Laurie Coombs on Joni's Table Talk image

Hello friends! I’d like to invite you to join me on Joni Table Talk today at 2am, 7am, and 8:30pm EST on Daystar! If you aren’t able to make any of those times, be sure to catch it On Demand by clicking here. And, if you’re open to helping me spread the word about the message I’ve been given, I’d be forever grateful if you’d consider sharing this episode on your social media channels or by word of mouth! Thank you! Have a fabulously wonderful day! Blessings, Laurie P.S. If you have any thoughts, I’d love for you to join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter!

Posted on: October 15th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

I’m super excited to share some incredible news on the heels of the article I recently wrote called, Living Victoriously in the Messy Middle. What I’m about to share serves as an example to what was written in that article, particularly the point I made about doubts. So anyway, here’s the news! The Coombs Family adoption has taken a bit of a twist. Just under a month ago, my husband Travis said, “If God wants us to adopt, He’s gonna have to drop something in our lap.” Famous last words, it seems. Not more than a few days later, it happened. A wonderful little bundle of joy was dropped in our lap. A baby girl, only a few weeks old, in Uganda. For those of you just tuning in, we’ve been pursuing an adoption in Ethiopia for the past five years, not Uganda. Hence, the twist of this incredibly wonderful, yet immensely difficult, faith-testing journey….

Posted on: October 8th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
Messy Middle

“How’s the adoption?” A friend asked excitedly as I walked into church one Sunday. I desperately wanted to tell her that we were moving forward without a hitch and that we had everything ready and that we would soon be traveling to bring our children home, but I couldn’t. Instead, I reluctantly spoke words that broke my heart. “We’ve hit another roadblock,” I said, before mustering enough faith to add, “but we’ve been here before.” I expected to see sorrow in my friend’s eyes at my response, but she simply said, with complete and total assurance, “Yep, and you know how to get through them,” before she quickly hightailed her way to service. I was a bit stunned to be honest at her quick reaction to my heartfelt confession, but I couldn’t help but smile. She’s right, I thought. I do know how to get through them! God was reminding…

Posted on: October 1st, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

Life sure has a way of throwing us curve balls, doesn’t it? I recently heard someone point out a significant dichotomy that exists in our world that I found interesting. At any given moment throughout the world, this person said, and even in our own lives, we see and experience incredible beauty and extraordinary evil all at the same time. Herein lies the tension of life. In one moment of time, we can hear the joy of a baby’s laughter while reading of horrible atrocities committed against children around the world. We can relish a beautiful moment with our family only to be interrupted and left stunned by the latest tragedy seen on the nightly news. We can take time to soak in the beauty of God’s creation only to receive word that an unexpected tragedy happened that will effectively change the course of our lives forever upon our return home. There is joy and beauty and…

Posted on: September 22nd, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
NIV Bible for Women

I received an email several months back from an editor asking if I’d consider contributing to the new devotional Bible by Zondervan called NIV Bible for Women: Fresh Insights for Thriving in Today’s World. There were apparently a few contributors who dropped out at the last minute, and this poor editor had only a few days to pull the whole thing together. It was Saturday. The project was going to print on Monday. And God had brought her to me (and I’m sure a few others). “I can do it!” I told her with excitement, as I thought about how God had done it again. He’d provided yet another opportunity to get my message out there, and I was thankful––even though this project had effectively hijacked my weekend. I was asked to write a devotion on Revelation 4:8, focusing on the fact that God is still on His throne despite all the pain we see…

Posted on: September 3rd, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
God's Love Demanded He Do Something

The following is an excerpt of my new book, Letters from My Father’s Murderer.  I spent most of the night in prayer, asking Jesus for grace. I desperately needed His grace to trust and follow Him where He was leading. I prayed for Him to grow my faith. To allow me to see as I ought. And as Dr. Graham’s words came to mind once again—about how Jesus loved and prayed for His enemies, even as He hung on that cross—I thought, what is Jesus really asking me to do, anyway? Then it hit me. He was simply asking me to give that which I had already received. That night, I began to see and understand the gospel more fully. I began to see that, prior to coming to faith in Jesus, I was in fact an enemy of God. Yet while I was still far from God, He loved…

Posted on: August 27th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
Have it all together

If there is one thing I know it’s that I don’t have it all together. Not a day goes by that I’m not faced with my shortcomings. Thoughts flood my mind continually. Thoughts like: I shouldn’t have eaten that. I should have said that differently. I need to love Travis (my hubby) better. I should have given more undivided attention to my girls. I shouldn’t have spoken those critical words. I need to be building up, not tearing down. I should have spent more time with Jesus this morning. I need a greater fire in my belly for the Lord. I should be loving and serving people better. And it goes on and on. I am far from perfect. But you know what? I’ve learned that it’s okay because, you see, I serve a big God. A God who sees my mess and loves me anyway. Despite my inconsistencies, despite my inadequacies,…

Posted on: August 18th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
There but for the grace of God...

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven…” – Luke 6:37 A 16th century English church Reformer named John Bradford allegedly said, “There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford,” as he watched executioners lead his fellow prisoners to their deaths. Bradford, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London for his Protestant faith by Queen Mary I of England, was later burned at the stake, dying a martyr’s death. It is said that, “Before the fire was lit, [Bradford] begged forgiveness of any he had wronged, and offered forgiveness to those who had wronged him. He subsequently turned to his fellow and said, ‘Be of good comfort brother; for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night!’” (Wikipedia). What an amazing man of God! Forgiveness was the last sentiment…