Wisdom Hunters

[Nannette]

You Are Beautiful​

“You have an inner beauty that never diminishes.”


Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 1, 2025


The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1


This summer, our family immersed ourselves in the Lord’s creation at a camp in Estes Park, Colorado. Every morning, I received a soft, then brilliant wake-up call as the sun eased up in the eastern sky over the snowcapped mountains. My soul leapt in worship as I listened to Phil Wickham‘s song, You’re Beautiful. My eyes moisten, and with tear-filled worship, I experience the beauty of the Lord. His sunrise warms my heart, “I see Your face in every sunrise. The colors of the morning are inside your eyes.” His majestic moon moves me in awe and wonder, “I see your power in the moonlit night. Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright.” Just as we are created in the image of God and are beautiful to Him, all of His creation is a majestic mirror of divine beauty.


Earthly beauties are subject to change (due to natural disasters, aging, etc.), but the beauty of the Lord remains unchanging. Saint Augustine clarifies this truth: “Question the beauty of the earth, the beauty of the sea, the beauty of the wide air around you, the beauty of the sky… question all these realities. All respond: ‘See, we are beautiful.’ Their beauty is a profession. These beauties are subject to change. Who made them if not the Beautiful One who is not subject to change?”


Take a moment to really observe your surroundings. Notice how the morning light filters through the leaves, casting shadows that dance with every breeze. Consider the ocean’s endless dialogue with the shore, as waves compose poetry in foam before erasing it and starting anew. Watch the clouds’ daily choreography, never quite the same twice, yet always breathtakingly beautiful.


Augustine had it right: all of creation is essentially shouting, “See, we are beautiful!” But here’s what takes your breath away—these beauties that captivate us are temporary. Seasons change, flowers fade, and sunsets dissolve into darkness. Yet their ability to move us, to stop us mid-stride with wonder, points to something permanent behind them. The Artist who painted this masterpiece doesn’t age or diminish. While His creation cycles through birth, death, and renewal, He remains constant—unchangingly beautiful, eternally creative, and forever worthy of the awe we feel when we witness His handiwork. And you have an inner beauty that never diminishes.


You are God’s beautiful, beloved work of art. When God looks at you, He doesn’t see the tired eyes or the accumulated wear of years lived. He sees His beloved creation, fearfully and wonderfully made, growing more beautiful with each passing day. While the world obsesses over fading physical appearances, your Creator delights in the deepening relationship He’s cultivating with you. Every wrinkle tells a story He wants to hear. Every struggle becomes a conversation starter. Every moment of renewal happening within you is His love letter written on your heart. He’s not disappointed by your aging—He’s invested in your becoming. This isn’t about Him tolerating your imperfections; it’s about Him celebrating your journey toward the person He always knew you could be. He created you for relationship, for intimacy, for the beautiful exchange of knowing and being known. Your outward changes don’t diminish His delight—they deepen His desire to draw even closer. Your beauty is captivating in the eye of your Beloved Beholder, who longs to be with you. Experience God’s beauty in loving worship.


Prayer

Father, thank You for creating me in Your image. I am Your beautiful and beloved child. Help me walk today in confidence, resting in Your love and purpose for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

[Nannette]

Speak the Truth​

“Stay close to Jesus, and your life will reflect his truth.”


Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 2, 2025


I speak the truth in Christ. Romans 9:1, NIV


I’ve regretted words that have left my mouth more times than I can remember. Surely you can relate? Countless moments when our insecurities cause us to put someone down in order to lift ourselves up, or times when our anger overtakes us and we use harmful words that demean those we are meant to love. These words are never loving or true, for they are born out of our brokenness and human frailty. Yet, in the mystery of God’s ways, we are able by his grace to speak words of truth and to have the confidence that these words are trustworthy and true. How? By knowing the source of all truth!


Our ability to speak words of truth is tied to our ability to live in communion with the author of truth.


In the words of St. Paul in Romans 9, he speaks “the truth in Christ.” At times, Paul’s writing seems bold and brash. How could he possibly be so confident in the guidance he was giving? When we look at the story of his life, it is clear that his confidence does not rest in his own abilities. He walked that road for many years and found that it only led to death! It wasn’t until Jesus Christ gloriously broke into his life and revealed himself to him and invited him to serve him as a beloved son that Paul truly knew himself, and knew the source of all wisdom and truth.


Our Lord extends the same invitation to you and to me, to come and follow him and invite others to do the same in both word and deed. Christ is truth, yet for us to have a similar confidence in the truth that we share with others, we must daily commune with him, inviting him to teach us his will and lead us in his ways. It is remarkably easy for us to stray to the left or to the right, losing sight of the one who daily invites us further up and further into his kingdom. Stay close to Jesus, and your life will reflect his truth.


Prayer

Father, we long to know the truth that is your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Keep us close today, so that any truth we speak will not come from our brokenness, but from his perfect love. Amen.

 

[Nannette]

Jehovah Rophe – The Lord Our Healer​

“Sometimes healing is instant. Other times, it’s a slow, beautiful process. But always, God is faithful.”


Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 3, 2025


Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. Jeremiah 17:14


Recently, I’ve been studying the various names of the Lord. I never realized how many there were. Did you know there are at least 31 different names for God in the Old Testament alone? Each name reveals a unique aspect of His character, His heart, and His relationship with us. One that has deeply touched my life and heart is Jehovah Rophe—”The Lord Who Heals.”


We first see this name in Exodus 15:22–26. After God miraculously delivered the Israelites through the Red Sea, they found themselves in the wilderness without water. When they finally came to a spring, it was bitter and undrinkable. The people complained, but Moses cried out to the Lord. God showed him a tree to throw into the water, and the waters were made sweet. Then God spoke, “If you will diligently obey… I will not bring on you the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”


This name—Jehovah Rophe—reveals more than just physical healing. The Hebrew word “rophe” speaks of restoration, wholeness, and health. God isn’t only concerned with our bodies. He heals our minds, our emotions, and our spirits. He heals our memories, relationships, and wounds that no one else sees. He touches the places we’ve buried, forgotten, or numbed because they were too painful to face.


Isn’t that just like God? I know how much I’ve needed Him in my own life for each of these reasons and so much more. He doesn’t offer a quick fix or superficial comfort. He moves into every layer of our being – body, soul, and spirit and brings healing that lasts. Whether we are grieving, anxious, ashamed, sick, or broken, Jehovah Rophe meets us there with compassion and power.


Sometimes healing is instant. Other times, it’s a slow, beautiful process. But always, God is faithful. He sees us, knows us fully, and cares deeply. The same God who turned bitter waters sweet can bring healing to the bitter places in our lives today.


If you’re in need of healing, whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual, take heart. You are not alone. The Lord who healed the waters of Marah is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Cry out to Him. Trust Him. Jehovah Rophe is near.


“’But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 30:17).


Prayer

Lord, thank you for being my healer. Please touch every part of me – body, soul, and spirit with your wholeness. I trust you. Amen.

 

[Nannette]

God will always take you through.”

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 5, 2025

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26

There are times in life when we must wait for an answer. Perhaps you’re experiencing a struggle, obstacle, or difficulty you wish would instantly vanish but there is no way around it. You must go through it—and because you must go through it, you must wait to get through it. But there’s good news! How you wait will make a huge difference as you wait.

You can wait in anger, impatience, frustration, doubt, or fear. But there is a better, far more life-giving way to wait: to wait in trust.

Trust in God makes us wait differently. Instead of waiting with anxiety or frustration, we can learn to wait with hope and expectation. When we wait with trust in God, we can see through our problem to the other side.

The author Max Lucado said, “Knowing what’s coming helps us to face what’s now.” Without knowing that what is coming is good, without being convinced that it’s redemptive, without trusting that what is coming will wipe away all that is bad and that all will make sense later, we cannot face what is now. Faith and trust help us press through what is now to embrace what will be.

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

I have been amazed during some of my most difficult seasons of life how the Lord has empowered me to wait in faith. The Holy Spirit in me has helped me hold onto trust when my current circumstances seem dark. Faith says, “This is what is happening now, but this isn’t always what will be. Things will change. God will prove faithful, and He will deliver me.”

Last night was one of those nights as I lay in bed on my back. I was in cancer pain from some tumors in my spine. Tears streamed down my cheeks and wet my pillow. But even while tears flowed, a song filled my heart. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below.”

When we trust in God, we wait expectantly, knowing He is faithful to His promises and that He will come through. Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

When we wait in trust and faith, waiting becomes active, filled with anticipation of how God will reveal His faithfulness. When we choose to see through our trouble to the answer on the other side, it’s not wishful thinking. It’s not being unrealistic because God is a “Through God.” He is a God who will always, always take us through. He cannot behave any other way. To do otherwise would be contrary to His character of faithfulness. No matter what happens, no matter what we are experiencing now, the answer in Him is ultimately, at some time in the future, always deliverance because He never abandons His people.

Trust in God makes us wait differently and it can even give you a strengthening song in the night when the tears come. Wait in expectation. Wait in hope. Wait in trust. Wait in faith. He will come through. He is your faithful God.

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:13-14).

Prayer

Lord, no matter what I am experiencing now, you will be faithful to me. I don’t see the answer from where I am standing, but an answer is coming. I know it! I hold firmly and steadfastly to you, knowing that you are my faithful and loving God. I don’t know why I am in this situation, but you do, and I trust you with all my heart. I will wait for you in faith. Amen.