Hannah Morrell
Moving Past Understanding

I was listening to a man several years ago who had just lost his infant daughter in the two weeks after she was born. She had fought for life, barely hanging on for those weeks, and then never left the hospital in her physical body. I attended the funeral with the tiny casket at the front, and, with tears pouring down my face,  watched her brothers, mother and father celebrate the brief life of their little girl. Months later, the man was talking to a ministry board and was asked how he was surviving. His answer has stuck with me to this day.

The grieving father said that when he was operating from his soul—his mind, will and emotion—he felt like he was cracking apart. He couldn’t make sense of anything that had happened (least of all why God had allowed it). He couldn’t fix it or force something to happen to change the outcome. And he felt raw, blinding grief that sucked joy away replacing it with anger and deep sadness. He said that in his soul, he couldn’t find what he needed.

Instead, he had to move into his spirit, which was filled with the Holy Spirit. His spirit could acknowledge reality above the physical one, and find comfort in what God spoke to him there. The earthly reality didn’t change, and his grief wasn’t gone. But he was able to move into a deeper part of him that brought peace.

Moving Past Understanding
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Hannah Morrell
Aspen Trees and Impossible Situations

Last week we were camping in the mountains, and I came across the most crazy-looking aspen tree. From a distance, it looked completely normal, healthy and thriving. The leaves were green and plentiful, and it was even supporting a smaller aspen growing up with it. I walked right up to the river bank on which it was growing, looked over the edge and was stunned by what I saw. Below the aspen tree, it’s roots were suspended in the air as it grew out of the bank and looked like it was almost floating. I couldn’t understand how it could continue to thrive when the base of it looked so precarious.

Of course, this got me thinking about how this relates to people, because God often teaches me about people through nature. First, we never know what is going on in people’s lives, but we often judge and compare based on the externals. I can’t tell you how many times I have to tell myself how little I know rather than jumping to conclusions about what looks perfect or compare-worthy on the outside. We don’t know what a person’s root system looks like, and sometimes make judgements without understanding.

Second, I know God is teaching me so much about His perspective versus mine when it comes to my circumstances. I look at that tree and tell it that it should probably give up based on the root system being suspended in the air! But it wasn’t, and even more so, it was living as if it was perfectly rooted and supported by the dirt. Yet, based on what I know about aspen tree root systems, it was actually being supported by all the other aspen trees around it by being joined together underground.

Aspen Trees and Impossible Situations
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Hannah Morrell
Why Should I Be Afraid?

I was watching a show the other day that follows a free diver, aptly named Ocean Ramsey, as she dives with sharks and promotes a different perspective on these animals. One of the marine biologists who commented on her advocacy said that Ramsey jumped into the ocean and asked a question—why should I be afraid? This was one of those gut-punching questions for me, as I considered how often we run away or never jump into places that we have been taught are scary because we have never asked this same question. Now, whether or not you agree with Ocean Ramsey’s quest to change the world’s opinion on sharks, I would ask you to look at your life and consider asking the same question about some of the other areas you might shy away from because it seems dangerous, stupid or downright crazy.

Something about fear is really important to God as He talks about it a lot in the Bible. He has not designed us for fear, but He knew we would experience it. Sometimes fear displays as anger, control or anxiety. But often we don’t stop to ask the question—why should I be afraid?

Often in Biblical stories, people push into circumstances that seem incredibly scary, something they maybe shouldn’t do if they are being “reasonable.” But they are operating in the identity God has given them and they are walking the calling He has given them, so the question is answered. There is no reason to walk in fear because they are made for this, and they have a God who is strength in weakness. David and Goliath, Gideon and the Midianites, Esther and Haman, Paul and the Romans—none of these people ended up running from fear but pushed directly into it. I know that some took some convincing, but ultimately they walked in places that they naturally should have been afraid, recognizing that supernaturally and spiritually they were going to be okay.

Why Should I Be Afraid?
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Hannah Morrell
Will You Jump?

Our dreams as children of being athletes, astronauts, doctors, superheroes or princesses seem to hit a giant wall somewhere in adolescence as we are told they are impossible, require too much money, require too much school or aren’t going to lead us to a successful life (whatever that is defined by someone who is older and wiser at the time). Instead of paying attention to what these dreams tell us about ourselves, we shut them down and tell ourselves to toe the line and be conformed to the formula of what our culture dictates is our future. That might mean making lots of money, having a marriage and family, being powerful in society, or any other number of definitions that spell success in our culture’s eyes.

I wonder, though, where we listen to God in all of this. The Bible is full of stories of people who were given an identity by God but didn’t believe it. They tried to fit into the identity that society was giving them, which really was just believing the fear when it told them they couldn’t make it. I know that sometimes I get stuck listening to the “wisdom” of the world and dismissing any thoughts of following some of the crazy things God might be calling me to do.

Will You Jump?
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Hannah Morrell
Be Still

When the world is spinning and feels like you are in a tornado,
When the stress ramps up and starts to choke you.
When the pain of loss and grief threatens to drown you in tears.
When the overwhelm and anxiety threaten stagnate you in everything today.

Be still. Know that I am God.

When I can’t figure a way out of the mess I’ve created.
When rejection is close and the fear of more governs my relationships.
When my finances are bleak and the outlook bleaker.
When I watch my loved ones hurt and hurt each other. 

Be still. Know that I am God.

When I feel like I’m moving through mud as everything is in slow motion.
When I can’t make things stop as they spiral and whir by my eyes.
When all of the plans I had made fall apart and wither away.
When I can’t see a future or a hope, and feel that the painful present is all there is. 

Be still. Know that I am God.

Be Still

circumstances

Aspen Trees and Impossible Situations

Aspen Trees and Impossible Situations

Last week we were camping in the mountains, and I came across the most crazy-looking aspen tree. From a distance, it looked completely normal, healthy and thriving. The leaves were green and plentiful, and it was even supporting a smaller aspen growing up with it. I walked right up to the river bank on which it was growing, looked over the edge and was stunned by what I saw. Below the aspen tree, it’s roots were suspended in the air as it grew out of the bank and looked like it was almost floating. I couldn’t understand how it could continue to thrive when the base of it looked so precarious.

Of course, this got me thinking about how this relates to people, because God often teaches me about people through nature. First, we never know what is going on in people’s lives, but we often judge and compare based on the externals. I can’t tell you how many times I have to tell myself how little I know rather than jumping to conclusions about what looks perfect or compare-worthy on the outside. We don’t know what a person’s root system looks like, and sometimes make judgements without understanding.

Second, I know God is teaching me so much about His perspective versus mine when it comes to my circumstances. I look at that tree and tell it that it should probably give up based on the root system being suspended in the air! But it wasn’t, and even more so, it was living as if it was perfectly rooted and supported by the dirt. Yet, based on what I know about aspen tree root systems, it was actually being supported by all the other aspen trees around it by being joined together underground.

What If God Gives You More Than You Can Handle?

What If God Gives You More Than You Can Handle?

I can’t tell you how often I hear the phrase, “God won’t give you more than you can handle!” It makes me cringe every time because then the implication is that if you are overwhelmed by the circumstances that surround you, then you aren’t doing life right. You must be weak, or faithless, or messing something up. But this is nowhere in the Bible!

The verse that I think is misquoted to mean this is 1 Cor 10:13, in which Paul talks about how God will always provide a way of escape from temptation. This verse DOES NOT say that we will never find ourselves in places that are overwhelming or too much for our own strength.

In fact, in 2 Cor 1:8-11, Paul talks about the severe trials he had experienced in Turkey, so overwhelming that he and the others being persecuted wanted to give up entirely. But he says these circumstances taught him to lose faith in himself and place all of his trust in the God who raises the dead. I find it interesting that Paul references God’s miraculous resurrections in this case—in other words, nothing (not even death) is too much for God.

Have you ever found yourself in a place that seemed too much for you to handle? Maybe it’s physical illness, or incredible work stress, or financial loss and insecurity, or emotional rollercoasters of relationships, or the idols of coping like addiction, or the repercussions of trauma, or feeling stuck and unable to get any traction in life. I’m feeling overwhelmed just listing these and thinking of people in each of these situations.

Choosing Your Choices

Choosing Your Choices

So, someone around here (that would be me) thought it would be a fun idea to get a puppy after our sweet old dog died this year. And don’t get me wrong, he is a cute little bugger. Right now, though, after several nights of sleep deprivation trying to get him housetrained, I am questioning most of my decision. I’m reminded again, though, of the importance of choosing our choices. What? Here’s what I mean.

Throughout life there are choices we have made, and many more that are made for us without our blessing or input. We often want to get angry, sad or depressed about whatever choice has been made for us, and sometimes we do it about our own decisions as well. I have been stopped in my tracks though when God asks me if I will choose to follow Him in whatever it is, even if I don’t like it. I would much rather throw a fit about it, and sulk in my disappointment. But if I choose my choices, I can change my attitude, and take advantage of the power Jesus’ indwelling Life brings to whatever situation it is.

You see, nothing is too big or too much for Him. Not a rejection or betrayal, not a tough marriage or a difficult child, not an unwanted move to a place we don’t want to go or a mess of a world that presents itself every morning upon our arising. If I invite Him into my mess, I am able to choose my choices and let Him be enough for each need throughout it. I want to be led by my Shepherd, following His gentle voice as it leads me through things I don’t think I can make it through. Even when the world looks dark and everywhere we look is something terrible, we can still have hope that He will be enough. So, we focus on showing up for our lives in whatever small way we can, inviting Him into each moment.

What To Do When You Aren't Radiating With Hope

What To Do When You Aren't Radiating With Hope

I always want to be real with you guys, not pretending to have it all together or to never struggle. I want you to know that Jesus is the same for me as He is for you—and He is enough for all the messes in life as well as the days that seems to stretch on forever. And I hit a wall this week.

I was exhausted, felt sick (not coronavirus symptoms) and had to cancel some remote appointments. In short, I was not radiating with hope like Romans 15:13 talks about.

Have you ever been there?

I knew when I woke up the morning after that I needed to regain my focus in order to operate out of the fullness of uncontainable joy and perfect peace, because I definitely was not. I usually get to the end of my rope when I don’t even realize I have changed my source and have decided that all the pressure to perform, do and produce has landed squarely on my own shoulders again.

Trying to Play God in the Circumstances of Life

Trying to Play God in the Circumstances of Life

A few days ago, I got caught in the funk of the “always” and “never” statements in my life. I started thinking that I would always be in this place, and circumstances will never be change. It is pretty discouraging when you start thinking this way, and often we don’t realize we are trying to play God in our own lives.

Recognizing God in the Struggles of Life

Recognizing God in the Struggles of Life

My friend and mentor Mike Wells used to talk about recognizing God in everything a lot. He probably taught it often because all of us needed the reminder constantly. When things happen in our lives that seem bad, it’s really hard to recognize God in them. We want to get an answer to why circumstances are the way they are, and usually we want to lash out at God for allowing the particular problem. Or even to doubt His existence because we don’t see His hand in caring for us in the midst of the suffering.

Defining God by Circumstances

Defining God by Circumstances

“You stand and fall by your definitions.” That’s something my friend and mentor Mike Wells used to say a lot. I’ve been working on a book about identity recently, and have realized how identity is really your definition of yourself. And this definition of yourself is often quite errant. We fall a lot because of a misguided definition of ourselves based on messages and hurts from our past mixed with an enemy who is doing all he can to keep us stagnant and stuck in ourselves.

Peace at Christmas

Peace at Christmas

And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!” Matthew 14: 25-33

Walking with the broken to find hope in Jesus