Unlike the other ladies in our nameless series, our lady in focus today is actually named!  I wanted to include her in the series, because I’d never heard her name until we went through Joshua during the very first summer study*. I’m writing about her here in the hopes she will no longer be nameless to you, as she is no longer to me.

Achsah is the only daughter of Caleb, one of the two spies who had faith in God and advocated for the Israelites to go into the promised land, despite the intimidating adversaries who occupied it. I’d encourage you to read the story in Numbers 12-13. Caleb was known as a man wholly devoted to God, so much so, that God gave him a special inheritance, which included part of the tribe of Judah’s lands (Joshua 14:6-15.) In Joshua 15:13-19, we come to the story of Achsah. Caleb promises her in marriage to whoever conquered the inhabitants of a place in the region named Kirath-sepher, also known as Debir. Othniel emerges victorious and wins the hand of Achsah. 

It might be tempting to think Achsah did not have a voice in this, if not for the following sentences. Let’s go slow motion through the next several verses. Scripture says she urged Othniel, her new husband, for a field from her father. (v18)

Then things get real. She gets off her donkey.

This gets the attention of Caleb who asks “What do you want?”

She replies “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.”

We don’t know if there was any more to their exchange. If there was, Scripture doesn’t record it, but we do know the outcome. In verse 19, Joshua writes Caleb “gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.” 

As I’m reading this in my house, I can walk about 20 paces to get to water. We have it so easy. Water in Achsah’s time, in a purely agricultural society without the technology we have today to transport water, is vital. These springs are not just a hot commodity; they were life. They would irrigate her field. They would feed her family. Caleb did not hold back. He gave her not one, but two of these springs! The gift Achsah’s father gave her was life, and life abundantly.

Sound familiar? 

Jesus said this in John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Now, some who have written on Achsah say she was a discontent daughter who just wouldn’t leave well enough alone. They say she was greedy. She not only got a gallant husband, but a field, and not one, but two springs! Never satisfied. 

When we receive this water and own our identity as a daughter of the most worthy and good Father, we will have the confidence to come before Him to ask for everything we need.

I may be wrong here, but I beg to differ on this interpretation. It isn’t a far leap to put ourselves in the position of Achsah, because in Christ, our stories are the same! I am Achsah, and so are you! We are the daughters of a good (the best!) and devoted Father. He is worthy of our trust, and He has our good and His glory in mind. He has given us an inheritance (1 Peter 1:3-5)  and He has made us His children and fellow co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17.) He tells us to ask Him for what we need, as He is a father who gives good gifts (Matthew 7:7-12.)

And the good gift we receive from our Father is a spring of abundant and eternal life. To another nameless woman of the Bible, Jesus says “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

When we receive this water and own our identity as a daughter of the most worthy and good Father, we will have the confidence to come before Him to ask for everything we need. We won’t be shy. We will get off our own donkeys and approach Him. We will draw near to ask and receive everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3.)

Is it hard for you to ask God for His springs? Perhaps you see Him as stingy. Or maybe you are holding back because you have not yet fully comprehended His love for you, that overcame death to bring you life. 

As we like to say here at Dayton Women in the Word, Jesus is the true and better. He is the true and better Caleb. He is offering us His grace, His life. So now we draw near with confidence of His goodness and provision as Achsah did her father.

I invite you to stop, get off your own donkey, ask boldly, and receive. Isn’t it ironic that in our own English language, Achsah sounds kind of like “ask?” I hope this helps you remember her story, and encourage you that with a simple ask, it can become your own. 

*Listen to the lecture from week 8 of the DWITW Joshua summer study to learn more about Achsah.

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Jillian Vincent loves Jesus. She's a wife, a mother of boys, and a Dayton enthusiast. Jillian currently is a stay at home mama and spends nap times writing and discipling other women. She would (almost) die for an avocado, a cup of coffee made by her husband, a novel that makes her cry, and a bouquet of sunflowers.

When I say the word Song of Solomon, what comes to mind? If you are churched at all, perhaps you know it as the sex book of the Bible. Just me? I’ve thought of it as a little embarrassing to read maybe, and awkward to talk about in the church. My hypothesis is that it is easier to laugh off our discomfort about it than to fully investigate it. It is a recorded conversation between lovers in the Bible, and we are supposed to read the Bible,but I still feel like I’m witnessing something maybe I shouldn’t be. Isn’t it too intimate or personal? 

God is very purposeful with what He includes in Scripture. Paul writes this to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” In light of this verse, Song of Solomon is not just a few risque conversations between lovers; this book is breathed out by God for our benefit. So we should not only read the book, but dive in deep. And for the purpose of this post, explore who this nameless female lover and her words which take up half the book! 

*I’d encourage you to read the book in its entirety before continuing in this post.
It is 8 chapters, so it won’t take you long!*

Song of Solomon has many different interpretations. Some think it is all an allegory showcasing the love of God to His people. Some believe the book to be an anthology of sorts, a compilation of love poems or songs. Two more interpretations hold the thought that it is a story of love between a shepherdess and either a shepherd or King Solomon. 

What is not so debated, however, is the description of the “she” character in the book. The ESV Bible introduction states that she is “perhaps the most clearly drawn female character in the Bible.” 

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. Song of Solomon 2:7

So, who is she? A shepherdess, a country girl, a Shulammite woman, most likely from the village of Shunmen, a part of the northern kingdom. She is a lover. We would call her head over heels in love, but at the same time, she fights for a pure union with her lover. She is eager to marry this man, and to make love to him, but she wants to do this thing right (aka “do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases” Song of Solomon 2:7.) She tells others about her beloved, speaks of her admiration for him, and her desire for him. She is excited to give herself to him. (My beloved is mine, and I am his. Song of Solomon 2:16.) 

She not only gives this love, but receives it, as exemplified by the back and forth nature of the exchanges. Their love is public, clear for all to see. She states “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” (Song of Solomon 2:4) The word for banner here is only used once elsewhere in Scripture, in Numbers 2:2, as something flown to share the identity of an army in camps and battles. Their love, therefore, is declared and becomes a part of their identity and declares it to their enemies.

So we do not know the name of this shepherdess, but we do know her identity was rooted in love. As our identity can also be!

As I’ve been listening to the most recent series of the Dayton Women in the Word podcast, I was struck by how Kalie McDonald described the Gospel as the greatest love story. She quoted one of my favorite passages, Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” She described herself going on dates with God and described him as her husband, a way we can all describe Jesus! It delights me to witness her public passion for the greatest love of her life.

For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. Isaiah 54:5

Our marriage with the Lord is a refrain throughout the entirety of Scripture. God describes Himself as our Husband (Isaiah 54:5,) He calls the church His bride (Ephesians 5:25,) and He wants us to own and act upon our identity as His beloved (1 John 4:7-12.) I remember all we learned in our Hosea summer study, about how God relentlessly pursues us, and restores us from us from adulterous sinner to His beloved bride. Like the shepherdess, we too will be attending a wedding banquet with our bridegroom, the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9.) 

In the garden, Adam and Even walked in this perfect love. They were naked and felt no shame (Gen 2:25.) I’ve heard it said that in Christ, we are “fully known and fully loved.” They were living with the Lord and flourishing under his good plan for this earth. When they sinned, their intimacy with God was wrecked, and their intimacy with each other as well. 

In Song of Solomon, I see a woman described with delight. I see two lovers obeying God, living according to His boundaries for sex and freely enjoying each other within them. I see no shame described. They are flourishing and free. Although interpretations differ on this specific book, we do know that marriage is the way God wants us to understand His relationship with us. As I read about the shepherdess in Song of Solomon, I feel an invitation to accept (without blushing!) God’s delight in me, His Bride. I feel the invitation to walk in the identity of love He has placed on my life and to feast with Him at the table. I want to obey Him to keep our marriage pure because I made a covenant to Him, and He to me. 

How would you describe Jesus if you were the shepherdess, describing her lover? What would you say? Write? We often annotate the attributes of God in our studies. Why not make it a love letter, and why not share it with others? I believe when we accept the love of Jesus, we won’t be able to help but brag on our Husband. It might seem too good to be true, but the reality is, it is TRUE. Others may think they are witnessing something too personal, but you will show them anyway because you want them to have intimacy with God like you do. 

And if you don’t know Jesus this way yet, it’s time to embrace the love He has for you. His desire is for you to be His. He is eagerly awaiting His bride, and we eagerly await Him.

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Jillian Vincent loves Jesus. She's a wife, a mother of boys, and a Dayton enthusiast. Jillian currently is a stay at home mama and spends nap times writing and discipling other women. She would (almost) die for an avocado, a cup of coffee made by her husband, a novel that makes her cry, and a bouquet of sunflowers.

They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continue to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more.” John 7:53-8:11 

I spend a lot of time thinking about dignity. As the writer for Back2Back Ministries*, a global orphan care ministry,  the bulk of my job is sharing stories of growth and triumph from cyclical trauma on behalf of vulnerable populations.  And I consider every word carefully. One of the house rules at Back2Back is to ask oneself, “if the subject of this story heard it read aloud, would they feel shame? Embarrassment? Pride?” I work for an organization who is diligent about showing smiling faces and providing the hope that comes after hurt. And when I read this passage about the adulterous woman, I know confidently I walk with a Father who is also in the business of  not only focusing on the hope, but gives it, and He removes our hurt. A Father who provides dignity to populations who may not know it well. And He takes these positions seriously.  

I walk with a Father who is also in the business of  not only focusing on the hope, but gives it, and He removes our hurt.

As I read this passage of Scripture, I consider the adulterous woman. I imagine the Pharisees winging her into the center of a large crowd and scoffing. If I were in her position, I’d likely be trying to fold in on myself as much as possible – cowering, arms crossed over my body, doing anything I could to make myself smaller amidst the crowd. Her heart must’ve been beating so fast, trying her best not to imagine the ping of stones against her flesh, wondering how long it would take before she’d draw her last breath. And all the while, I imagine the crowd was jeering and taunting.

Can you imagine the isolation and fear she must’ve felt? 

And this is what shame in the place of dignity does to us, sisters. You may never have cheated on your husband or significant other, but I imagine we can all recall a moment where we were publicly called out for sin. In these moments, our fear brain whispered to us, “you’re the only unclean one here, girl – everyone knows it’s true.”

Jesus then does what He always does – gently reminds those Pharisees they’re no worse or better than the woman they’re wishing to condemn. “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Now that’s a mic drop, if I’ve ever heard one.

Jesus doesn’t point His finger at each of the Pharisees and list their indiscretions aloud for all to hear – even though He could have.

Jesus doesn’t further shame the adulterous woman with her additional sins that the crowd doesn’t know – even though He could have.

Jesus doesn’t yell or criticize or lose His cool over a crew of bros trying to tell Him how to do His work on this side of Heaven – even though He could have.

He just calls it like it is – you boys with clean hands? Go ahead, throw the stones. And one by one, they walk away, until it’s just the woman and Jesus. He asks where they’ve all gone, asks who condemned her, and she says, “No one, my Lord.” 

“Me, either,” He responds. “Go. . .”

With just a few sentences, He provided dignity for a woman who believed she was going to be publicly chastised and stoned to death.

I empathize with this woman. It’s not a good feeling when our sin is called out publicly. However, she isn’t necessarily who I’m wanting to model after reading this story.  

It’s our Savior.

He has all the information. He knows all the mishaps. He has an ongoing record of every wrong committed. Yet He offers grace and dignity.

He doesn’t put the Pharisees on blast, He simply reminds them they’re not so pure.

He doesn’t encourage the crowd to do what the Law commanded of them, He just asks who’s gonna throw the first stone.

He doesn’t even lecture the woman at fault, He just asks who condemned her after all the hullabaloo.

He is gracious, tender, forgiving, and He seeks to restore the dignity with which He made each of us.

May we all be so, when dealing with other humans. May we each remember everyone has a past. May we recall the times we were called out, and how it felt. May we always know that no matter the story, no matter the history, no matter the sins, everyone deserves dignity. 

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27

*For more information about this ministry, visit https://back2back.org.

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Steph Duff wants to live in a world where every human, whether small or regular-sized, learns to use their voice and is seen and known. When she's not traveling and story telling with Back2Back Ministries, you'll likely find her drinking excessive cups of coffee, with her nose in a book, or daydreaming about India. Her favorite scripture is Habakkuk 1:5, and she prays for a world in which Jesus is the name on every lip. Learn a little more about her love for semi-colons, what stirs her blood, and the yearnings of her heart over at www.stephaniduff.wordpress.com.

Meditations on Mark 7:24-30 and Matthew 15:21-28.

I remember studying about this Syrophoenician/Caananite woman during the Mark summer study. This is one of those stories I always glimpsed through but never really understood. Is Jesus really calling her a dog? This is a little more than unsettling. And she is agreeing with Him? I kind of want to defend her. 

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian Sythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:11

If ever there was a case for the metanarrative, this is it. I don’t believe we can understand this story without first understanding the Old Testament’s stories of a chosen people (the Israelites) and the good news of the Gospel and what that means for Gentiles like the Syrophoenician woman (and myself and probably you too.) It is also a case for context, because upon further study, we find that Jesus was in Tyre and Sidon, a primarily Gentile region. As Jesus was a Jew, He was pursuing Gentiles by taking His ministry and influence into their territory. Although the word dog is unsettling to us, Jesus’ actions show a clear pursuit to those previously considered “unchosen.” His character is consistent. He is the Good Shepherd going after the stray sheep.

In my ESV Study Bible, it gives interpretation for each part of this conversation between Jesus and the woman. It says the bread represents Jesus’ message, the children are the Jews, and the dogs are the Gentiles. God chose a people for Himself. This started with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 15) who later made up the nation and people of Israel. When Christ came, He grafted the Gentiles into the same promises He gave to the Israelites (Colossians 3:11, Ephesians 2:11-22, Galatians 3:28.) We were adopted into the family of God. So now, we are not the dogs waiting for the crumbs. We can feast on the Bread of Life Himself, seated at the table as part of the family of God! 

In this account in both Matthew and Mark, we have a woman in desperation. She is pleading for deliverance from a demon for her daughter. After this curious conversation between the woman and Jesus, He graciously grants her what she is asking. This story, although only six and seven odd verses respectively in each gospel, is a huge foreshadowing of a much greater deliverance, one open to all people. 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28

Jesus came not just for the Jew but for the Gentile. Additionally, in a male dominant culture, this is yet another account of Jesus caring about women and showing that His grace, healing, and relationship is not only for men, but for women as well. 

There was hope for the Syrophoenician woman and her daughter when there seemed like there was no hope.

There is hope for all of us.

I invite you to meditate on the above mentioned passages in Ephesians, Colossians, and Galatians with me today. I pray we have the faith and humility to see our rightful place and also see how Jesus traded us our rightful place for His. May we never get over the beauty of that truth. We have a new identity, a new birthright, a new family. We who were once far off have now been brought near. Ah, the nearness of Christ! When we accept this new reality, I believe evil will flee from us just as it did from the household of this humble woman.

See yourself in the place of the Syrophoenician woman. We have much in common with her. I am also a Gentile and in great need. Jesus pursued me, meeting me where I was at, to bring me His deliverance. He saw me begging for scraps and called me into a great feast. 

If you feel like you are undeserving of God’s grace, well that is true. I don’t say that to put you down. I’m here with you. One of my favorite lyrics from Relient K is “the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair.” It is humbling, but without Jesus, we don’t have a seat at the table. However with Jesus, we are coheirs with Christ! What a miracle!

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,1 but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into la holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:11-22

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Jillian Vincent loves Jesus. She's a wife, a mother of boys, and a Dayton enthusiast. Jillian currently is a stay at home mama and spends nap times writing and discipling other women. She would (almost) die for an avocado, a cup of coffee made by her husband, a novel that makes her cry, and a bouquet of sunflowers.

​Ah! REST...what a glorious word! I inhale and exhale deeply at just the sound of it. And oh, how we humans need deep, glorious rest... Moms especially need it...as do dads. Single folks need it; workers need it; retirees do, too. Even kids need it (although they would protest most loudly...especially in the midst of the frenetic-ness of no-sleep sleepovers!)

I remember as a mom of an infant how I longed for rest, praying my crying-in-the-middle-of-the-night baby would just fall quietly back to dreamland. Or my napping toddler would stay napping so I could lie prostrate for just a few more moments (Please, God!) And now, even as a senior retired adult, that beautiful rest calls my name more often than not in the midst of my afternoons. So I often take to my overstuffed couch and doze as I watch the old westerns from my childhood.

I can’t help but think our craving for physical rest is really just a picture of the rest we need even more so for our souls and spirits. That’s why Christ’s invitation is so attractive. We see it here:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

Here in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus promises rest as a gift. This is not just the "take a nap" kind of rest, it goes much deeper. It’s anapausis (“rest” in Greek.) It’s “inner tranquility” even while “engaged in necessary labor.”

In our passage, we see Jesus teaching and preaching to a crowd of people in Galilee. Who were these people? Of course, the crowd would include His disciples, who were His learners. The religious leaders dogged His every step, so of course, they surely were part of this crowd. But in the previous verses, there is a hint at who Jesus’ real audience is. Listen to how He prayed just before His invitation:

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… Matthew 11:25-28 ESV

Jesus’ primary offer was to the common folk, like you and me - “ragamuffins,” as one author calls us. Not the “perfect people” who have it all together. No, it’s for those of us who know we don’t have it together. Maybe we keep on trying, we “weary ones” who work our religious “to do list” to exhaustion or the “heavy laden,” burdened by the failure of falling back into habits of sinful shame. The invitation is for all of us who know we need something we cannot produce. So we see and hear Jesus, with His beautiful “yes face,” call to us:

Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest …

Literally, it reads, “Here to Me, and I will rest you.”

Our Lord is pointing, as it were, to Himself as the Person who is the place of rest, in contrast to the Pharisees who were following Him and harassing the people with their “religious mega-list.”

we see and hear Jesus, with His beautiful “yes face,” call to us: Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest …

That little Greek word translated “to/toward” in this verse is like an arrow aimed in a certain direction. So here we have Jesus saying “I am your focus, not those Pharisees over there and their ‘religious to do list;’ not your own self-effort to be righteous and good, but ME! I am your Rest.” And this is the inner rest of spirit that Jesus gives as a totally free gift when we come to Him. “I will rest you!”

What is this rest of spirit Jesus gives as a gift? It’s the rest of union with Him (Colossians 3:3.) This is rest indeed! And it is fixed, permanent, unchanging. It includes total forgiveness of all our sins, past, present, and future (Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 10:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17;) birth into God’s family as a beloved child of God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1-2;) identification with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:4-14; Galatians 2:20.) It means Christ is living in me by His Holy Spirit (Colossians 1:27; 1 Corinthians 6:17,19.) I have all of Him in all of me (Colossians 2:9-10.) And this is true the moment I respond to Christ’s invitation: “Here, to ME!” He rests me.

So there is no more working, no earning, no trying to be right in God’s eyes; no grasping for His love, no agonizing over getting more of Him and His Spirit. I have it all because I have HIM. It’s all about receiving HIM who is my promised Sabbath Rest.

So may I ask you, dear sister in Christ, are you resting in Him who is your Rest? Or are you still working, trying to achieve what you already have and who you already are in Him? If so, search out some of the Scriptures above and rest in Him who rests in you.

Next time we will explore the crucial question: How can I experience this rest relationship with Christ in my real daily life? How can I live from these truths?

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 Jan Loyd is a child of God, a disciple of Christ, a Jersey girl, a former nun, a teacher, and now a wife of 47 years, mother of two, grandmother of 5 boys and finally a baby girl...these are just some of the hats she wears or has worn. Her hat as teacher has seemed to be one she’s worn her entire adult life, ranging from elementary school, homeschool, adult ESOL and GED language and writing. But along with all of these opportunities has been her favorite above all the rest: teaching women the Word of God in various ways, Precept Upon Precept and Bible Studies she’s developed by the grace and tutelage of God along the way. Currently you may find her on her devotional blog “A Branch in the Vine” where she share several times a week and in her Bible Study/ devotional book The With-ness of our God: Relationship in Every Dimension.

”As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.”
- Proverbs 27:19

There’s something particularly breathtaking for me about a good metaphor. Whether it invites me to ruminate on how irises grow or the structural strength of triangles, those bits of imagery remind me to look for depth and beauty in the midst of the mundane and notice how little things can showcase to us a glimpse of God. There is so much that goes on around me that I miss, that I simply overlook. Why? Because I’ve believed the lie that simplicity lacks insight, and I’ve forgotten that small can still be significant. I’ve found what I need most sometimes is to just stop, linger a bit, and take a good look at the world around me.  A few words penned by Solomon in Proverbs 27:19 extended just such an invitation to me this week: “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.”

Every morning, at some point in time, I enter our bathroom. And there is no hiding from my reflection in the large mirror that is poised above the sink. Whether I deem the mirror unforgiving or unuseful, this has no opinion of what it holds. It simply shows me what is there. Today as I brushed my teeth, that little proverb from the Word converged with a sliver of Sylvia Plath’s poem The Mirror: “Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me, searching my reaches for what she really is.” I looked up from the sink and at the frothy-mouthed figure that stood looking back at me. What am I, indeed?

It’s a familiar yet haunting question. And it’s not one that can be answered with words or appearances, but with a heart, with a life. I am afraid of my heart, afraid of what it hides and what it loves. It can be unruly and wild - both terribly and wonderfully impassioned. And yet, what does it reflect? What am I? Who am I, really?

If I am what my heart reflects, how do I see it? How can I rightly see what I am?

I think of what the Lord said to Samuel when he was sent to anoint David as the next king: “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7)

I am faced with the reality that I cannot even rightly see myself without the Lord. It is His unimpaired clarity and unfathomable wisdom that I must ultimately rely on to even begin to look at my heart as it truly is, marred by errant desire and selfishness, inclined toward lesser loves, yet redeemed. Wholly redeemed.

I am faced with the reality that I cannot even rightly see myself without the Lord.

It’s somewhere in the mashup of what I was and what I will be that I find what I am. I was unholy, unrighteous, unfaithful, ungodly. But through Christ, these things have been overcome and put to death. He has completed His work - which now gives me freedom. I am being refined from the things that oppose God. The purity of His character is being etched in me and that which is unlike Him removed - this process continues until all that remains is a reflection of the perfect manifestation of His heart, Jesus. But until Jesus is all my heart reflects, my prayer must be as that of David in Psalm 51, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Confronted by the words of God through the prophet Nathan, David could no longer hide from his reflection. He hated what he saw and turned to God for forgiveness and redemption. For that was the only place he could find it.

So what am I? I have been broken, but I am made whole. I have been consumed by sin, but I am made holy. I was dead, but I have been made alive. I am a reflection of Christ at work, of a history of redemption, of insurmountable grace, of unsurpassable love. Due to Jesus’ sanctifying presence in my life, I am a re-creation in process.

And you, sister, all this can be true for you too! Because of Jesus, only ever because of Jesus. It is through Him that perpetual renewal is found and in Him that we can overcome our initial, innate reflection of a fallen world. We do not have to conform to what we see around us, but we can image something greater, something brighter. In this darkening world, our hearts can reflect hope.

God, as we carry on throughout the week, through late night shifts, meals alone, diaper changes and carpool lanes, help us to be unafraid and ask You to show us our hearts. We ask You to reveal to us the light and darkness that struggle within. We ask You to come in and renovate the places where we need to better reflect You in the core of who we are. May we turn to You first when we question our identities, when we wonder what we are. May we remember we are Yours, for Your glory forever and ever, we are Yours. Amen.

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Robin Zastrow wants to live in a world where coffee never gets cold and kindness abounds. When she's not discovering the wonders of construction paper and cardboard tubes with her two little ones, you can find her sneaking in another few pages of a book or jotting down bits of writing on scraps of paper.

One of her favorite Scriptures is:
“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” Psalm 33:20-22 ESV

““Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.””

— PSALM 105:4

Belonging is a funny thing. From conception, I think, we all fight to belong. In the womb, we find a sense of belonging with our mother – she is the source of our food, our soft place to land, our sanctuary. What comes after birth, often feels like a drawn out case of trial-and-error where we try on different proverbial clothing. We have many attempts at finding where, and with whom, we “fit.” I think, on some deep, unseen level, we’re all yearning to really belong.

Media tells us we won’t belong without owning x, y, or z product or service. Society tells us we won’t belong if we don’t conform, in some form or fashion, to a belief system or practice of behavior. And in some circles, belonging does not actually begin without some sort of initiation. The world we currently live in would have us believe that belonging doesn’t actually happen naturally. Instead it is something we must earn, fight for, and that we have to prove ourselves worthy to belong.

God’s Word teaches us to rest in our belonging from the very beginning

On the contrary, God’s Word teaches us to rest in our belonging from the very beginning. In Isaiah 64:8 the Spirit-inspired prophet writes, “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” And later in Ephesians 2:10 Paul tells us we are “His workmanship.” Also, David’s words in Psalm 139 remind us that our frames were “not hidden from You [God]. . .” So, when I think about belonging from a Biblical worldview, I think about being seen and known in ways that are wholly unique and deeply intimate.

I belong to my mom because I know what the sound of her heartbeat sounds like from the inside.

I belong to my family because they’ve stood beside me in every season, whether it was tumultuous or marked by sunshine.

And I belong to Jesus, because He knew the number of my days, the intensity of my heart, and the struggle of my insecurities...all before I ever took my first breath.

There is an intimacy incited with the idea of belonging. It does not mean ownership, instead it is two souls gazing on the other and silently acknowledging, “I know the darkness of the storms you walk through, and I’m still going to do my best to lay light down, and walk with you.”

Belonging means we hear, and we are heard.

And I don’t know about you, but I can get very caught up in believing I go unheard by God. I am a girl who likes her answers quick! I also find myself praying, “And if you can manage it, Jesus, give me the answer I want. Kgreatthanks.” And then when the answers take their time arriving, or they aren’t the answers I’m hoping for, I allow my anger to fly, asking God why He doesn’t listen and why He won’t answer.

Recently, I’ve started asking the Lord for very clear answers. I’ve prayed things like, “Make it so clear that there is NO way I can deny that it’s You, Papa.” And as time wore on, I began to think I was in the clear. He wasn’t saying move, so I thought I was supposed to stay. And that gave me a shaky unfounded relief.

Then an answer came. And it was undeniably Him. And yet all I felt was anger.

“God, I know I asked you to make it clear, but didn’t you hear how desperately I didn’t want this answer? You’re the God of the universe – you’re telling me you couldn’t pull some strings here and manage a little switcheroo?

In the midst of my anger, and of furiously journaling all the ways I was enraged and how I wanted Him to fix it, He did what He always does (no matter the amount of petulance I’m serving up) -- He showed up to remind me to Whom I really belong.

“But truly God has listened; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.”
- Psalm 66:19

I think the lesson I’m continually learning is that we cannot ask God for clear answers and yet not expect Him to deliver. Jesus is the kind of friend we all really hope for on this side of Heaven that often feels impossible to find. He will wholeheartedly, without hesitation, answer the questions we hand Him with the utmost honesty. He rushes in, even on the cusp of us having full-on tantrums, and says, “Hey! Kiddo, if I don’t want something for you, I will make it so that you will not have it – no matter how much the last parts of your soul yearn for it.”

But truly God has listened; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Truly God has listened -- even when He answers differently than we want. Truly God has listened, even when He says move, and we don’t want to. Truly God has listened, even when we don’t hear Him in our timeline. Truly God has listened, because He is God. And we are His. We belong to Him first and foremost.

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Steph Duff wants to live in a world where every human, whether small or regular-sized, learns to use their voice and is seen and known. When she's not traveling and story telling with Back2Back Ministries, you'll likely find her drinking excessive cups of coffee, with her nose in a book, or daydreaming about India. Her favorite scripture is Habakkuk 1:5, and she prays for a world in which Jesus is the name on every lip. Learn a little more about her love for semi-colons, what stirs her blood, and the yearnings of her heart over at www.stephaniduff.wordpress.com. 

Can we be honest for a moment? Are you like me and wrestle with the idea of death and destruction by a loving God? I was tempted to skim over this week’s reading laden with conquest and geography. But I didn’t. And God spoke to my heart in a tender way because of it.

What was so important about the land the Israelites needed to take possession of anyway? Didn’t it belong to others who were already dwelling there? Was God just being cruel and socially unjust? What kind of a God would do that?! We’ve all encountered difficult passages we have either wrestled with or wanted to ignore because they’re challenging and uncomfortable.

Our reading this week is like that. It’s messy. And in our Western Christian culture, we don’t do messy well.

How often I am quick to take my culture and insert it into the Bible. And when I do, I come away with a misunderstanding of the passage and most importantly, misinformation about God.

Instead of ignoring the “elephant in the room,” I decided to face it. First, I had to remember that God delivered His Word to us in the context of an Eastern culture that is more organic and relational than ours. This culture also has a “two-handed” approach to thinking (“On the one hand…. but on the other hand…”) and welcomes discussion and wrestling with the tension of opposing options.

Personally, I seek comfort in having all the “right answers.” I cling to truth as a cherished possession I own. Everything should be black and white, balanced and fair, and coincide with my own values. I pull truth out of my pocket and wave it around when I’m backed into a corner. I place my full weight, trust, and life behind that truth as I’ve come to understand it. I even find security in it. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, there’s not much right with it either. And so began the struggle, and the Lord calling me back to center through the tension found in Joshua.

As I dug in, I learned something helpful: the book of Joshua was written in the form of an ancient land grant. Land grants were made for the benefit of vassals (slaves/people) living under a suzerain (lord/king) -- much different than treaties which were made for the king’s own personal benefit.

Just as God offered the Israelites kingdom identity, I need to understand the identity I have in Him as my King.

In a land grant, the land remained a part of the kingdom and was under the king’s control and protection. As long as the nation to whom the land was given remained loyal to the king, the land was theirs to keep. This arrangement gave the people a kingdom identity and sense of security. So what does this have to do with the Israelites? In the book of Joshua, God takes on the role of the suzerain. As such, there was no place for those who proclaimed loyalty to other gods.

God was carving out a place of identity for His people, and the world would know He is the one true King.

As I was digesting this, I began seeing similarities of my own heart to the “land.” Just as God offered the Israelites kingdom identity, I need to understand the identity I have in Him as my King. Just as He helped them vanquish the enemies and strongholds that stood in their path, I need to address the stubborn enemies and strongholds of my heart.

The Promised Land was to be a place of rest and kingdom living for the Israelites--a place where God’s glory would be on display for all the nations so they too might come to know Him as the one true King. This made me stop and reflect. Is God’s glory on display in my life? Am I tolerating strongholds and sins that are, in effect, enemies toward God? What is it that keeps me from enjoying the provision of my King -- from fully living in that place of security, peace, and identity He desires for me to enjoy?

These are the things God tenderly spoke to my heart as I read this week’s passage. And in them I find hope in a God who fights for me.

““How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors has given you?””

— Joshua 18:3

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Jackie Perseghetti wants to live in a world where every human realizes they are walking wounded and in need of God’s grace. Her heart is to be God’s person at God’s time in the life of another and she looks for God-given moments to breathe life and encouragement. When Jackie is not going on adfuntures with her hubby (adventure with fun at the center) or teaching drums or the art of papercrafting, you can find her digging in her garden, storytelling to her grandkids, or sharing the stirrings of her heart at  www.smallstepsintofreedom.wordpress.com  She takes great comfort in her favorite Bible verses: Isaiah 41:10 and Isaiah 46:4.