September 3, 2025

Viewing all things through the lens of the True and the beautiful!

The True

Herald on the Run

What impact am I having?

Have you ever asked yourself—or God—that question? I know I have! It is so easy to evaluate your obedience through the lens of the impact you see it making—or not making. It is a natural and normal human behavior to consider the impact of an action.

But God’s plan frequently unfolds in a different fashion. His plan so very often includes a herald on the run, and if you fail to recognize this fact, it is very easy to grow discouraged and even disillusioned.

Habakkuk 2:2 says: “Then the Lord replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.’”

This instruction should be so liberating for you!

First and foremost, are you listening for God’s voice? You can only be a vessel through which He speaks if you can hear what He is saying. In this passage, God is replying to Habakkuk. He is engaging Habakkuk in a back-and-forth conversation. There is more to say about this (I write in more depth about it in my book, My Fame His Fame), but for purposes of our discussion today, suffice it to say that Habakkuk is not entirely onboard with what God is instructing. Even so, He is still listening intently enough to hear what God is saying!

Next, are you accurately identifying what it is God wants you to do or are you caught up in how it might have an impact? God’s instruction to Habakkuk was simply to write down what He was saying, and to write it down in a way that clearly communicated the message. God didn’t tell Habakkuk to go make sure the intended recipient of the message heard it; He simply told Habakkuk to listen carefully, hear clearly, and write it down plainly. What has God actually asked you to do?

Finally, have you considered that your task may not involve participation in the final delivery or execution of the message He is giving you? God’s work through Habakkuk was specifically designed to be delivered through someone else—in this case, a herald on the run. It was the reason Habakkuk needed to make it plain—because he wouldn’t be there to explain it or answer questions. The herald would deliver the message, but he would not be able to further explain it because he was not the one who heard the message.

Your Word from God may be meant to reach the intended audience through someone else.

Your revelation—the one you are tasked with contending for, listening to intently, and recording scrupulously—may be delivered when you are not even around.

There could be any number of reasons for this. Perhaps God is using you to prepare the ground for something He will do after your death. Or perhaps God is shielding you from the weight of either acclaim or scrutiny that would come with delivering the message He is speaking. But the reasons are not yours to determine—or perhaps even discern.

Your task is to simply be attentive enough to hear clearly what God is asking, and humble enough to articulately prepare the message for the herald on the run.

You are the vessel not the Message. The Word God is speaking to you may not be for you or even intended to be delivered by you. But it is for someone, and it is to be delivered. Will you be faithful to carefully and plainly record it?

And—to tease a conversation for another day—is God speaking to you through something He first spoke to someone else?

World

Military Parade in Beijing

China is showing off its military strength in a parade through the streets of Beijing. Tanks, aircraft, troops, and other military assets will be on display for the public, and China President Xi Jinping will deliver remarks to those gathered, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Chinese military parades are something of a commonplace, but this week’s festivities mark the first major parade since 2019. It comes two-and-a-half months after the U.S. held a similar parade in Washington, DC to commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

Analysis and eternal perspective: There is a stark dividing line between how major geopolitical actors perceive this week’s military parade in China. On the one hand, the U.S., Europe, and most of the more democratic world is responding warily and with at least a modicum of caution about the Communist Party’s display of strength. On the other hand, more dictatorial leaders like Putin, Kim, and Pezeshkian are eager to use the occasion as an opportunity to demonstrate solidarity with China.

As Jesus followers, while we should be quick to acknowledge that no man or government of men is infallible, this is also a very clear example of being able to distinguish between good fruit and bad fruit (Matt. 7:15-20). China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran have vastly different levels of power and influence in the world, but the governing philosophies all flow from a similar authoritarian vein. The result is limited freedom for those living under their rule, and a threat to those who are within reach of their power.

Proverbs has no shortage of counsel on this matter:

“For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers” (Pr. 11:14).

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Pr. 15:22).

“Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers” (Pr. 24:6).

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Pr. 13:20).

This week, pray that world leaders would abandon a course of gathering authority unto themselves and instead embrace a humility that seeks broad counsel.

In a similar way, let’s you and I commit to carefully considering the trusted counsel of godly friends as we endeavor to follow Jesus through life’s tricky decisions.

U.S.

Shooting in Minneapolis

Two young schoolchildren are dead and more than 20 people are injured after a shooter fired through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis last week. The shooter, who died from self-inflicted wounds, has been identified by law enforcement as a 23-year-old former student at the school who began identifying as a female in 2020. Law enforcement says the shooter’s mother is a former employee of the church, and they believe the shooter acted alone.

Analysis and eternal perspective: There is no “making sense” of evil events. This type of horrific event has become something of a regular occurrence, but that does nothing to reduce the horror for the families of the victims and the survivors. We as The Equipped community will be in fervent prayer for these families as they navigate loss and walk through recovery.

There is very likely always several complex factors—both known and unknown—that lead to an evil action like this one. The callousness required to take innocent lives is born out of a seared conscious and deeply misaligned identity. Isaiah 43:1 is a crystal-clear reminder that each of us is not only intentionally designed by a loving God but also called by name and claimed by God.

There are many variations of losing touch with this clarion call on our lives, but your mission and mine includes reminding those around us they are fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14), and intentionally designed for a specific purpose (Eph. 2:10).

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Ps. 139:14).

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10).

World

Earthquake in Afghanistan

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people, and that number is certain to increase as rescuers work to reach mountainous villages flattened by the quake. Causalities are higher due to the fact the quake struck in the middle of the night and many in the region live in structurally weak homes.

Afghanistan is controlled by the Taliban, which is designated as a terrorist organization by much of the world, significantly complicating relief efforts.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Natural disasters can bring devastation to any region at any time, and it is extraordinarily difficult—even impossible in accordance with 1 Cor. 13:9-12—to comprehend why such things are a part of life here on Earth.

It is clear, however, that you are to be an agent of comfort and compassion when tragedy strikes those around you (2 Cor. 1: 3-4). As you pray for those who are living under Taliban rule and are now facing the devastation of an earthquake, ask your loving heavenly Father to show you how to best serve in this trying moment. Perhaps you can support a relief effort, or maybe there is someone in your community with a family connection to those impacted. Ask the Lord how to model His care and compassion into this circumstance, and let this story be a reminder to search your own heart as you journey through this temporary place on the way to your eternal home.

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12).

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

The Beautiful

Sweetness of the Season

Posset is a delicious dessert (or hot drink, if you prefer) made from the bounty of summer’s harvest (honey and lavender). As summer turns to fall, the sweetness of this treat reminds of the goodness of our current season.

This is a reflection that can be so easy to miss. Every season of life has very real challenges and obstacles, and it is easy to let those become our focus. But every season has sweetness, as well, if you will receive it. This week, ask God to reveal to you the sweetness of your current season and be intentional to savor what He reveals.

“Every good and perfect gift if from above” (Jam. 1:17).

“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given” (Jn. 1:16).