Isaiah 54:7

My 10-year-old daughter recently created a beautiful journal to honor me on Mother’s Day. I loved all her poems and sweet words, but one line in particular stood out to me: “Mom, I pretend nothing with you.” That was one of the best compliments I could ever receive. In her own words, she was saying that she trusted me enough to be open and vulnerable with me. It dawned on me that God wants this from us, too. He wants us to trust Him completely and hide nothing from Him. In this five-day study, we’ll examine five questions God asks to help us find true intimacy with Him. I pray that by answering them, you’ll be able to say, “Jesus, I pretend nothing with you.”

Self-pity slyly whispers that we deserve better. It clouds our thinking until grumbling seems inevitable. But thanking God lifts our gaze. This plan examines Bible characters tempted toward self-pity, Jesus’ sinless victory over a similar situation, and God’s invitation into gratitude and joy. We’ll counter self-pity’s lies like “I’m in this alone,” “I don’t have enough,” and “I’m taken for granted” by celebrating God’s ability, help, provision, honor, and love.

If you are filled with longing for home right now, you aren't alone. All of us want a place to be safe and comfortable, to be loved and understood. This desire for home runs through the Bible too. In this seven day series, Steven Bouma-Prediger looks both at our desire for home and God's call to our true home with him.

This seven-day plan explores the radical conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well in John chapter 4. Jesus quickly turned small talk into spiritual insight on the timeless human problem of living with unmet longing. By the end of the study, you’ll see how the “living water” of God’s presence erases our shame, heals our loneliness, and gives us a place to belong.