Scripture

But let those who run to You for safety be glad they did;
let them break out in joyful song.
May You keep them safe—
their love for You resounding in their hearts.

You, O Eternal, are the One who lays all good things in the laps of the right-hearted. Your blessings surround them like a shield.

Psalm 5:11-12 (VOICE)

The Gist

Your blessings surround them like a shield.

Today, we discuss a new perspective on what a blessing is and isn't. It's incredible how one sentence in scripture can open our hearts to something new.

We have been taught or often think of a blessing as a moment, a breakthrough, an answered prayer, or provision at just the right time, but Psalm 5:12 is pointing to something deeper. It speaks of blessing as being an atmosphere, posture or even environment that we live in.

Blessing doesn’t remove us from our difficulties or challenges, but it changes how much gets through to us living inside this blessing shapes how we interpret life, and we walk differently. Blessing isn’t something we’re waiting for, but what we remain within.

To say that blessing becomes our environment is saying I live under God’s care. I wake up in his favor, and I walk through the world protected by his presence, it’s saying, I don’t have to move toward the blessing or work for it. I wake up inside it.

Digging Deeper

If blessing is not something I chase, what parts of my life still feel like I’m striving to earn it?

What shifts in me when I imagine blessing as the atmosphere around me rather than a reward ahead of me?

What changes in my identity when I believe I am someone who lives in blessing rather than someone who receives it occasionally?

How might my decisions change if I trusted that I am already held, already covered, already favored?

What practices help me stay conscious of the environment of blessing rather than slipping back into striving?

Scripture

Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; 5 it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs 6 or celebrate injustice; but truth—yes, truth—is love’s delight! 7 Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (VOICE)

The Gist

Today, we discuss why these verses make Allison roll her eyes.

Sometimes scripture is so overquoted and used in the wrong context it loses its weight and meaning. That’s especially ironic in these verses since Paul wrote them to call out and convict the people of Corinth, who thought that they already understood love.

He wasn’t writing poetry for couples or talking about romantic love in 1 Corinthians. He was writing to a church that was failing when it came to love.

In fact, it quietly describes the life of Jesus, not an ideal personality or marriage. These verses were written to confront our wills and call us to surrender back into obedience.

The gist is, our discomfort with this verse is the tension between a beautiful idea of Christ's love, and the real-world harm misapplied theology and incorrect use can have over time.

Digging Deeper

Can you relate to what we shared today about these verses from 1 Corinthians? Do they bother you because they have been made sentimental, because they refuse to let you off the hook, or something else?

How did it feel to hear that these verses weren't written by Paul to be sentimental, but surgical? What does that mean to you?

Is there a scripture that brings up strong emotional responses in you? Consider sitting down with curiosity and journaling through those thoughts.

Scripture: Mark 1:35-38 (Voice)

Early in the morning, Jesus got up, left the house while it was still dark outside, and went to a deserted place to pray. 36 Simon and the others traveling with Jesus looked for Him. 37 They finally tracked Him down.

People: Everybody wants to know where You are!

Jesus: 38 It’s time we went somewhere else—the next village, maybe—so I can tell more people the good news about the kingdom of God. After all, that’s the reason I’m here.

The Gist:

What is Holy Indifference? It's being present with/for someone without trying to "save" them or be "God" for them. It isn't indifference or apathy, it's loving someone without being consumed.

Jesus was a great example of Holy indifference. He cared deeply, but never let the urgency of others and their demands override His calling and God's plan.

Loving without being consumed requires a deep trust in God. When we practice Holy indifference, we are essentially handing people back to God again and again. We don't stop loving them, we stop holding what isn't ours to hold.

It's a heart that is: tender, not entangled, present, not pressured, and responsive, not reactive.

It's learning to listen instead of solving, care without chasing outcomes or solutions, and love without trying to manage someone else's emotions.

Digging Deeper:

If God asked me to release this particular attachment, what emotions arise in me?

When I imagine letting go of control, what part of my ego resists the most?

What would it look like to trust God without demanding guarantees?

How might holy indifference deepen my capacity to love others without needing them to be a certain way?