Checking In reminds you that you are not alone and that God has not yet finished writing your story. This 5-Day Devotional will inspire you to reject the lies of anxiety and depression and replace them with the truth of God’s Word.
HarperCollins/Zondervan/Thomas Nelson
Day 1
Scriptures: Psalms 139:13-16, Job 33:4, Genesis 1:27, Ephesians 2:10
The process of how we were dreamed up and planned for and loved on and created by God surpasses our ability to understand. So when we fail to see the beauty, the perfection, the completeness of his creation—us—what are we communicating to God? What are we communicating about God? Basically, we’re saying we know better and can do more than God can.
I mean, I know that we know that’s not true. Otherwise, God wouldn’t be God. But we aren’t living like that’s true.
We need to pay attention to how we’re defining who we are. Because we’re defined by our maker. . . .
If who I am is based on what other people say? I have no chance.
If who I am is based on the negative thoughts I have about myself? I have no hope.
If who I am is based on who made me . . . I am his.
The only label I’ve got that matters is God’s. God’s creation. God’s work. God’s child.
Our value as people has nothing to do with what we do, say, or accomplish. Our value comes from the One who made us: God. And when we can begin basing our identity on that fact, we can begin to live more honest, meaningful, and joy-filled lives.
So I’ve gotten in the habit of this—of opening my phone’s notepad and writing down anything I’m feeling is true about myself. Good and bad. All the labels I’m wearing. I know this sounds ridiculous, but you have to check in with your own thoughts. You may not even be aware of your own feelings.
Who am I right now? Who do others say I am? Who do I say I am?
This is the ground floor of how I check in with myself. I have to start here. Because until you really know who you think you are, you can’t begin to check in with yourself on a real level.
Prayer
Lord, please help me to see myself as your child. Please help me to know who you have created me to be, and please show me your truth. Amen.
Day 2
Scriptures: Genesis 12:1-9, Romans 5:8, John 3:16, Proverbs 16:9
The story of Abraham shows us that God has always valued people; he’s always valued closeness. It shows us how God has always placed the most importance on relationships, even before sending us his Son, Jesus. If anything, it was the God of the Old Testament who did send us Jesus. He knew that he would never be as close to us as he wanted to be unless he made a way.
So he sent his sinless Son, his perfect Son, his compassionate, strong, brilliant, and good Son to be killed. Not just to make a point. Not just so we’d follow him. Not just so we’d know he is God. He sent Jesus to make the first move—the first move toward us. To show us he wouldn’t let anything stand between us. That’s how much God wants to be near to us. It’s kind of crazy, right? It’s like, Lord, you can’t really love us this much? You can’t really want to chill with us this badly?!
But yes, because of Jesus, we can be close to God.
If the problem isn’t God moving away from us, it must be that we’re moving away from God. Because God isn’t going anywhere. He doesn’t take vacations to Cabo and leave somebody else in charge. He doesn’t nap or get on Twitter. God always stays exactly where he is. . . .
Sometimes God takes away the plan of man because he wants all the glory. He wants to do it for us and in us. He wants us to make no mistake about where our help came from. He wants us to come to him. He wants us to stop praying the rote prayers that are polite and memorized. He wants us to talk to him like he’s a friend. Like he’s a friend who can handle our honesty. He wants us to check in.
Prayer
Father, thank you for sending Jesus so that I can be closer to you. Please help me to stay close to you and to follow the plan you have made for me. Amen.
Day 3
Scriptures: Proverbs 18:21, Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8-9, Psalms 25:4-5
If you’re a believer, you’ve probably heard the scripture from Proverbs 18:21 that says, “Your tongue has the power of life and death. Those who love to talk will eat the fruit of their words” (NIRV).
If you don’t think that what you say to yourself or to others has any bearing on your life, you are in danger. Our words and agreements work like magnets that draw us in a certain direction. Even if it’s a direction we don’t want to go in.
Think about it this way: If you wake up every day and say, “It’s going to be an awful day,” everything you do and say that day will be done and said through that negative lens. You’re going to look for the bad, and every time you see it, you’ll say, “See, I was right. It’s an awful day.” . . .
We do this all the time, whether we realize it or not. Don’t think so?
Do you ever find yourself saying yes when you really want to say no? We all do this occasionally, but how many of you continually find yourself going places and doing things you really don’t want to do? Do you put your wants and needs on the back burner and put other people’s (or even animals’) needs first, even when it’s a real inconvenience to you? Is doing something for someone else the only way you feel good about yourself? Making someone else happy? Even if it makes you unhappy?
If this is you, you may have made a spiritual agreement a while back that on your own, you’re no good. That without works, you are worthless. You’ve told yourself that everybody relies on you and you can’t let them down. If you do, you’re selfish. So you find yourself enslaved to the demands of those around you. You’re probably frustrated, drained, and feel taken advantage of. But it’s all because you haven’t checked in with your motives, your why behind the choices you make. . . .
Part of checking in with yourself is becoming aware of what thoughts you’re having over and over again. These are usually signs of agreements you’ve made about yourself internally: spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.
Prayer
Lord, please show me which of my thoughts do not line up with your Word, and please help me to focus on what is good and true. Amen.
Day 4
Scriptures: Philippians 4:6-7, John 14:27, Proverbs 2:6-10, James 1:5
The tricky thing about anxiety is that we sometimes think we’re feeling anxious about something because it’s rooted in fact. Like, this could happen because I’ve seen this happen in other people’s lives. Or, I’ve seen this happen in my own life before. So there’s “truth” to the anxiety I’m feeling.
But if you were to bring that thought before God and say, “God, how much of this is truth and how much of this is fear?” and you really broke down your anxiety thought by thought, like I just did, you’d see that you’re not fearing the truth. You’re fearing your fear.
Now, that’s not to say we shouldn’t check in with these thoughts and ask, “Is there any truth to this?” Because we should. I’m not saying we should live in denial. What I am saying is we have to check in with our thoughts and throw out the fear and work with the facts.
Because sometimes, we can have intuition.
In my opinion, the Holy Spirit cautions us when we’re about to tread somewhere we don’t need to. You may not be comfortable thinking about the Holy Spirit, and that’s okay. Basically, when you enter into a relationship with Jesus, his Holy Spirit has access to lead you, guide you, comfort you, and speak to you. When I have intuitions, I believe they are given to me by the Holy Spirit.
Anxiety is unsettling. It feels like an anchor dragging our very being into a pit of dark despair. But intuition? Intuition will feel “pleasant” to your soul. Not great, but pleasant. Intuition ain’t gonna make you jump for joy. But it will feel quietly true, and truth brings out peace and rest.
Prayer
Father, I open myself to your guidance and wisdom. Please help me to hear and follow your voice. Amen.
Day 5
Scriptures: Matthew 18:21-22, Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 6:14-15, Ephesians 1:7-10, Colossians 1:13-14
One of my favorite questions from the Bible came from a guy named Peter. He was one of Jesus’ closest friends and followers. One day, they were all kicking it, and Peter went up to Jesus and was like, “So, how do we know when to forgive?”
Don’t you do that with your parents? Or didn’t you when you were growing up? You have a specific situation in mind, and you don’t really want to go into detail, so you ask a general question like that. Like, “Hypothetically, Jesus, let’s say someone has wronged me. How would I go about handling that?” . . .
We don’t know the situation; all we know is that Peter wanted answers: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ ” (Matthew 18:21 NIV).
Jesus was so cool, though. He didn’t get flustered or roll his eyes. He’s like, “Seven’s a good number. But what about seventy times seven?” (v. 22, my paraphrase). . . .
Jesus was basically saying that Peter wasn’t asking the right question. Peter didn’t understand the concept of forgiveness. It’s not a feeling. It’s not something you do because you want to. It’s not even something you do because God told you to. It’s something you do to live the best version of your life.
Jesus was so serious about forgiveness that he modeled it for us to the greatest extreme. How far should we go? When should we forgive? What is it worth? Jesus went so far as to give up his life. He exchanged his life for the dirty rags of our sins just so we could experience God’s complete forgiveness.
If you’ve never heard that before, it is my genuine honor to say it: Jesus died for you. For everything you’ve done and everything you will do. When he looks at you, he doesn’t see the screwups, the mistakes, the failures. He sees perfection. He sees someone worth saving. Someone worth dying for.
If you’ve never checked in with Jesus and asked him to be a bigger part of your life, asked him to forgive you, asked him to be your Savior, I pray right now that you’d do that.
Talk about a check-in to remember!