Out of the Dust Ministries

Out of the Dust Ministries From brokenness to glory. Restoring people with love, identity & purpose in Christ

Yes, it does take all of that.We live in a time when surrender can be celebrated until it becomes inconvenient.We want G...
08/23/2026

Yes, it does take all of that.

We live in a time when surrender can be celebrated until it becomes inconvenient.

We want God’s presence, but do we want the prayer life that keeps us close to Him? We want spiritual power, but do we want the fasting that tells our flesh it is no longer in charge? We want revelation, but will we study His Word? We want Kingdom community, but will we assemble when staying home is easier? We want God to use us, but will we serve when nobody sees it?

We want the “Well done,” but are we willing to live the life that comes before it?

That’s the heart check.

Because following Jesus was never supposed to fit comfortably around everything else we wanted to do.

Yes, it takes prayer. It takes fasting. It takes studying. It takes gathering. It takes serving. It takes sacrifice. It takes obedience when obedience costs you something.

Not to earn salvation. Not to prove how holy we are. But because staying surrendered requires us to continually choose the Spirit over our flesh.

And sometimes the problem isn’t that the enemy is attacking us. Sometimes our flesh is simply angry because we’ve finally told it no.

Jesus said deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him. Daily means yesterday’s surrender cannot make today’s decision for you.

So maybe the question isn’t, “Does it really take all of that?”

Maybe the question is:

How much of “all of me” have I actually given Him?

Because we cannot keep asking God for a fully surrendered life while continually negotiating which parts of ourselves He is allowed to have.

Holiness is still right. Surrender still costs something. And Jesus is still worth all of it.

I don’t just want to start surrendered.

I want to finish surrendered.

Galatians 5:24 | Luke 9:23

Whose boxes are you checking?We all have them.The boxes we want checked before accepting the job. Before entering the fr...
08/21/2026

Whose boxes are you checking?

We all have them.

The boxes we want checked before accepting the job. Before entering the friendship. Before saying yes to the opportunity. And definitely before considering a relationship or future spouse.

Do they have this? Do they look like that? Does this fit the picture I had in mind? Check. Check. Check.

But here’s the problem: we can only check the boxes we can see.

God sees what we don’t.

Sometimes we’re celebrating because everything on our list has a checkmark while God is looking at boxes we didn’t even know needed to be there. And sometimes we’re ready to reject something because it doesn’t check one of our boxes, while God is saying, That box has nothing to do with the purpose or assignment I have for your life.

Our preferences can tell us what looks good.

God knows what will actually be good for us.

That’s why surrender has to reach our checklists too. We can bring our desires, standards, plans, and expectations before God, but we also have to give Him permission to edit the list.

God, remove the boxes I created from fear, comparison, culture, past hurt, or my own limited understanding. Show me what matters to You.

Because something can check every box you created and still be outside God’s will. And something God ordained may arrive looking completely different from what you expected.

Before you ask whether it checks all your boxes, ask:

Does it check His?

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5 KJV

Sometimes the hardest part of believing God is enduring the space between what He said and when He chooses to bring it t...
08/20/2026

Sometimes the hardest part of believing God is enduring the space between what He said and when He chooses to bring it to pass.

We receive the promise, but somewhere along the way, we can create our own timeline for how and when we think it should happen. When that timeline passes, doubt can creep in: Did I hear God correctly? Did something change? Did I miss it?

But our expected time and God’s appointed time are not always the same.

Hebrews 6 reminds us that it is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises. When God made His promise to Abraham, there was no one greater by whom He could swear, so He swore by Himself. The certainty of the promise wasn’t resting on Abraham’s ability to make it happen. It rested on the character of the One who promised it.

And after Abraham patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Waiting doesn’t mean God forgot. So keep being faithful. Keep obeying. Keep preparing. And don’t let impatience cause you to manufacture what God promised to provide.

God is not a man that He should lie. What He has spoken doesn’t become less true because it hasn’t happened on your timeline.

Faith believes the promise. Patience stays long enough to see it.

Hebrews 6:10–15

Worship Wednesday 💜Worship is not applause.We applaud people when they perform well. We celebrate when they do something...
08/19/2026

Worship Wednesday 💜

Worship is not applause.

We applaud people when they perform well. We celebrate when they do something we like, and when they don’t meet our expectations, that applause can quickly turn into criticism.

But that’s not how we worship God.

Jesus said true worshippers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth. And sometimes the truth is: God, this isn’t what I wanted. This isn’t how I thought You would do it. I don’t understand why that door closed. I don’t understand this valley. The answer didn’t look anything like what I prayed.

And yet, I worship You.

Because worship isn’t reserved for the peaks.

We worship in the valley because we remember every valley He has already brought us through. We worship when the door opens, and we worship when it closes because sometimes a closed door was God’s protection. We worship when the prayer is answered exactly how we asked, and when the answer looks completely different.

Worshipping Him in truth doesn’t require us to pretend everything feels good. It requires surrender. It is our spirit responding to the truth of who God is, not merely reacting to what is happening around us.

And the truth is, He has kept us. He has protected us. He has corrected us. He has carried us. He has opened doors and closed others. He has answered prayers, and sometimes He has loved us enough not to give us what we thought we needed.

So whether you’re standing on a peak today or walking through a valley, He is still worthy.

Don’t worship God only because you liked what He did.

Worship Him because you know who He is.

John 4:23–24

Study to show yourself approved.The more you study the Bible for yourself, the more you realize how much you may have he...
08/18/2026

Study to show yourself approved.

The more you study the Bible for yourself, the more you realize how much you may have heard about Scripture without ever examining Scripture for yourself.

Sometimes we believe something because a pastor said it, a prophet said it, a teacher taught it, our family believed it, or someone with a title sounded authoritative enough that we assumed it had to be true.

But a title does not remove our responsibility to study.

This is also where understanding confirmation and affirmation matters. To confirm means to establish or verify something as true. To affirm means to support or reinforce what has already been established.

God and His Word establish the truth. A pastor, prophet, or teacher can affirm it and help us understand it, but what someone says should never replace our responsibility to seek God and know His Word for ourselves.

Even when someone gives you a word that sounds good, take it back to God and Scripture. Something can sound biblical and still be taken out of context, improperly applied, or simply not be God’s instruction for you in that season.

That’s why we study.

The deeper you study, the more you notice. You discover context you never considered. You may realize something you’ve repeated for years isn’t actually what the text says. You even notice differences between Bible translations, including verses found in the KJV that are omitted from the main text of some modern translations.

So compare. Ask questions. Examine context. Pray for understanding. Seek God for wisdom.

Study creates discernment.

We should never know someone’s sermons better than we know the Word they’re preaching from.

You’ve heard what they said. Now study what He said.

2 Timothy 2:15

Can you swim?Can you float? Doggy paddle? Freestyle? Butterfly?You can know how to do all of them and still have a momen...
08/17/2026

Can you swim?

Can you float? Doggy paddle? Freestyle? Butterfly?

You can know how to do all of them and still have a moment in the water where you feel like you’re drowning.

Life can feel the same way.

Sometimes we’re capable. We’ve been through this before. We know how to navigate difficult seasons. We know how to pray, worship, work, lead, serve, and keep moving. But suddenly we’re struggling to stay above water.

And before assuming you don’t know how to swim anymore, ask yourself: Did I lose focus? Am I exhausted? Or did I say yes to something that was never supposed to be my swim style?

Peter stepped onto the water because Jesus told him, “Come.” And he actually walked on it! The storm was already happening, but Peter began to sink when his attention shifted from the Word that called him onto the water to the wind surrounding him.

Sometimes the storm hasn’t changed. Our focus has.

Even before Peter stepped out of the boat, the disciples struggled to recognize Jesus coming toward them in the middle of the storm. And sometimes life feels exactly like that. The wind is loud. The waves are high. Our vision gets distorted, and we’re trying to make out Jesus through everything happening around us.

But here’s what I love:

Whether you can see Him coming in the distance or He has to reach down and pull you out because you lost focus, He’s still there.

So if you feel like you’re drowning today, don’t immediately question whether you’re capable of swimming. Check your focus. Check what you’ve agreed to carry. Check whether you’re exhausting yourself trying to move in a way God never instructed.

Then look for Jesus again.

The storm may still be moving, but so is He.

Matthew 14:25–31

One hard chapter does not get to become the title of your entire story.Sometimes when we’re in the middle of a difficult...
08/16/2026

One hard chapter does not get to become the title of your entire story.

Sometimes when we’re in the middle of a difficult season, it feels like it’s consuming everything. The trial is real. The disappointment is real. The uncertainty is real. And when you’re living in the middle of it, it can become difficult to imagine life beyond it.

Think about driving through a tunnel. If you focus only on what’s immediately around you, all you’ll see are walls and darkness. But you don’t stop driving because it’s dark. You keep moving forward, watching for the light ahead.

Our faith requires the same focus.

Scripture tells us to look unto Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith.” The chapter you’re struggling through right now does not get to decide how your story ends.

And be careful not to let a chapter rename you.

Maybe there was a chapter of addiction, but God delivered you. Don’t spend the rest of the story identifying yourself by something He brought you out of. Maybe there was a chapter filled with shame, rejection, failure, grief, or brokenness. Those things may describe what happened in a chapter, but they do not get to become the title of your book.

Don’t allow one failure to rename you a failure. Don’t let one loss convince you everything is lost. Don’t let rejection rename you unwanted. And don’t let a dark season make you forget the Light you’re following.

The tunnel is part of the journey, but it is not the destination.

Keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep moving when you can’t see everything ahead. Keep trusting when all you can see is what’s immediately around you.

God is still writing.

Don’t name the whole story after one hard chapter. And don’t put a period where God is still writing the next one.

Hebrews 12:2

What are you holding onto because you’re afraid God won’t provide again?When God gave Israel manna in the wilderness, He...
08/14/2026

What are you holding onto because you’re afraid God won’t provide again?

When God gave Israel manna in the wilderness, He gave instructions with the provision: gather what you need for today. Yet some kept manna overnight when God told them not to, and what they tried to preserve spoiled.

Then Jesus tells us about servants entrusted with talents. Two used what their master placed in their hands. One buried his because of fear.

One held onto what God said release. Another buried what he had been entrusted to use.

Different stories. Same heart check:

Do I trust the Giver more than I trust what He gave me?

Survival says, “Hold onto this because you may never get it again.” Fear says, “Don’t pour too much because what if there’s nothing left?” And sometimes we dress that fear up and call it wisdom or stewardship.

But biblical stewardship is handling what belongs to God according to His instructions. Sometimes He says save it. Sometimes sow it. Sometimes multiply it. Sometimes pour it out. Sometimes leave it behind.

The issue isn’t how much you keep. The issue is whether you obey.

And this goes beyond money.

Some of us are carrying yesterday’s oil into today’s assignment because we’re afraid there won’t be fresh oil. We’re holding onto an old method because it worked before, an old assignment because God once blessed it, an old connection because God once used it, or even an old version of ourselves because becoming who God is calling us to be requires trusting Him again.

But yesterday’s manna was for yesterday, and yesterday’s oil cannot replace today’s dependence on God.

If He tells you to pour, pour. If He tells you to use it, don’t bury it. If He tells you to release it, don’t preserve it because you’re afraid you won’t receive more.

You don’t have to hoard yesterday’s provision when you trust the God who provides daily bread.

Exodus 16:19–20 | Matthew 25:14–30 | Matthew 6:11

Thankful Thursday 💜Take a moment today and look back.Look at what you’ve accomplished. Look at what you’re still working...
08/13/2026

Thankful Thursday 💜

Take a moment today and look back.

Look at what you’ve accomplished. Look at what you’re still working toward. Look at the prayers that have been answered and even the things that didn’t work out the way you hoped. Look at the victories, the disappointments, the doors that opened, the doors that closed, and yes, even the places where you failed.

Now look again and recognize one thing that remained consistent through all of it:

God kept you.

There were highs you prayed for and lows you prayed your way through. There were moments you knew exactly what God was doing and others when you couldn’t understand Him at all. But when you look back now, you can see His hand in places you may not have recognized while you were living through them.

But here’s the question: Did you pause to thank Him while you were there?

Sometimes we’re so busy asking God for what’s next that we forget to thank Him for what He’s already done. And sometimes we’re so focused on getting out of a difficult season that we miss the ways He’s keeping us right in the middle of it.

So today, before you ask for another thing, take a moment and simply say, “Thank You.”

Thank You for what You’ve done. Thank You for what You’re doing. Thank You for what didn’t happen. Thank You for what I learned when things didn’t work out. Thank You for keeping me when I didn’t even realize I was being kept.

And thank You in advance for everything that is still to come.

In the highs. In the lows. In the waiting. In the becoming. There is always a reason to give God thanks.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Sometimes we treat grace like God is unbothered by what’s breaking us.We know His mercy is new every morning and that He...
08/12/2026

Sometimes we treat grace like God is unbothered by what’s breaking us.

We know His mercy is new every morning and that He forgives and restores, but we can begin using grace as permission to ignore His correction.

Grace is not approval of disobedience.

When the Holy Spirit convicts us, it is mercy—God revealing what needs to change before it grows into something destructive. His patience is not permission, and the absence of immediate consequence is not the same as His approval.

We must stop saying, “God knows my heart,” while ignoring what He is asking us to change. Because He does know our heart—and He loves us enough to correct it.

So when God convicts you, respond. When He exposes something, repent. When He leads you to change, obey. Don’t delay what His kindness is already inviting you to do.

Let His kindness lead you to repentance.

Romans 2:4

Address

Scottsdale, AZ

Telephone

+14808195485

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Out of the Dust Ministries posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Out of the Dust Ministries:

Shortcuts

Share

Category