When adversity strikes, such as being laid off from a job, losing a loved one, strife within a personal relationship, or a global pandemic, many of us cry out to God, “Why?! What sense does it make to cast me adrift at this time in my life?” Solomon shed light upon this situation in Ecclesiastes, saying, “Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well a

While we have started to have some good news in the fight against COVID-19, there is still so much unknown and so much suffering still happening. When times are tough and we do not know when they will not be tough — and have little we can do to overcome those challenges — our confidence in the goodness of God can waver. Wavering faith does not mean that we are bad Christians, it is usually the result of the world is exerting new pressures and influences on us. After all, we a

Even though we all have much to worry about these days, we all still have much to be thankful for. Thankfulness is not a one-time act; it is a way of living. We give thanks because God created us in His image and has watched over and blessed us all our lives. But why does He bless us though? A blessing is a challenge to be generous. In 2 Corinthians, it says “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will r

As we begin another week of quarantine living, this week we have positive signs to boost our spirits. Some businesses are starting to reopen and the growth rate of cases seems to be slowing in many places. This new phase of reopening the economy is a big leap of faith. When we take leaps of faith individually, we always approach them prayerfully. Thus, this should be no different. Prayer guides the steps we take and connects us to our God who protects us. Pray today for our n

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of one restaurant that has survived in this tough time by changing its mission. Just like every other restaurant, Tootsie’s in Palo Alto, CA was hit hard by this pandemic. Their owner, Rocco Scordella, decided that to survive, he needed to get creative and change the mission of the restaurant. He decided to launch an “Adopt a Doctor or Nurse” catering program, where community members could send in requests and payment for meal

We all face tests in life when the only way to make it through is by being strong. Sometimes our challenges require physical strength, other times emotional or spiritual strength. We are all capable of varying degrees of strength, but we are not capable of facing some challenges alone. Standing in the face of incredible circumstances requires a strength we cannot possibly summon by ourselves. In Philippians, it says, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Neve

There is much talk today about how our leaders will bring an end to this quarantine -- with heated debate and strong feelings from many angles. No matter what political party we support, when we place our hope in anything other than God – when it fails, we are lost. Whether it be our leaders, our job, our bank accounts, or anything else, there is nothing on this earth than cannot fail. Hope isn't just a thing that exists in the air that we can breathe in and breathe out. Howe

We cannot see what is coming in the next weeks, months, and even years as a result of this pandemic. However, that is not a reason for fear. That is not even a change from what we have always had – none of us could ever see the future. Challenges have always confronted us when we least expected them in life. What actually happens in our lives is almost never what we planned to happen. Just because this challenge is being felt by everyone does not mean it is somehow different

Having been in quarantine for over a month now, we are all getting restless. There are a lot of opinions on what should happen next, and at this point, deciding what to do is more of a calculated risk than a certainty. But how blessed are we that with God, there are no calculated risks. We don’t love God because we are hedging our bets on his existence or trying to invest in some sort of heavenly insurance policy, we love God because He loved us first and His goodness and gre

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of generosity that is sure to inspire. In Georgetown, TN, a senior citizen came up short on cash when trying to buy groceries at the local grocery store. 17-year-old Elizabeth Taylor was the cashier and when the senior citizen, Layne McKeel, said she would go put things back, Elizabeth noticed that everything in the cart was an essential. Elizabeth told her that she would cover the last $33 of her $173 bill. Elizabeth is a you