Before the Lord

When life presses in, we all go looking for something to steady us. In this episode, Blake opens an old journal entry — “Lord, I am struggling” — and traces the choice every struggle sets before us: reach for a quick substitute, or reach for the nourishment of God’s Word. Featuring Matthew 4:4, where Jesus meets the tempter in the wilderness at His weakest and takes hold of the Word instead. Blake...

Have you ever felt God nudging you toward something you feel completely unqualified to do? In this episode, Blake gets honest about his own version of that fear — sensing God asking him to publish his writing while feeling utterly inadequate — and finds unexpected company in Moses at the burning bush. When Moses asks “Who am I?”, God doesn’t argue that he’s capable. He gives a better answer: “I wi...

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed — one hard phone call, one bad report, and our stability cracks. In this episode, we sit with Psalm 62:2 and find that God is not just a rock to stand on but a fortress to hide in — and that His promise isn’t the absence of shaking, but the assurance that we won’t be toppled. Blake shares the season his business came under attack and anxiety took over, and the simple...

Have you lost your joy? Not your happiness — your joy. In this episode, we look at why joy goes missing, the difference between joy that’s pressed thin by hard seasons and joy that’s stolen by sin, and how King David found his way back after sin cost him everything. Featuring Psalm 51:12, this devotional traces the pattern of sin, silence, and confession — and the honest step that opens the door t...

Solomon compares a wise reprover to gold — not silver, not bronze, but gold. The most precious material in the ancient world. In this episode, we unpack why that comparison matters, what it means to be someone who speaks disruptive truth into the lives of those they love, and why the cost of doing so is part of what makes it valuable. Featuring Proverbs 25:12, this devotional explores both sides o...

The night before the cross, Jesus prayed one of the most powerful words in Scripture: nevertheless. In the deepest agony imaginable — sweating drops of blood, facing the weight of all humanity’s sin — He pivoted from what He wanted to what the Father willed. And immediately, an angel appeared to strengthen Him. In this episode, we explore what that pivot looks like in our own lives — how “neverthe...

What do you do when life beats you down and it feels like you have nothing? In this episode, we sit in the paradox of 2 Corinthians 6:10 — where Paul, from the middle of beatings, imprisonments, and hunger, writes: “We own nothing, and yet we have everything.” We explore what that paradox looks like in real life, what Matthew Henry meant when he called joy in tribulation a “duty and calling,” and...

Abraham was called a friend of God — not because he earned it, but because he believed. In this episode, we explore what it means to create room in our hearts for a deep friendship with God, and what Abraham’s faith teaches us about the kind of trust that moves our feet. Featuring James 2:23 alongside Genesis 12:1-4 and Genesis 22, we unpack how friendship with God begins with faith and deepens th...

Jesus gave His disciples the power to heal — and they still couldn’t do it. Why? Because they’d been careless in their spiritual walk. In this episode, we unpack what it means to cultivate our faith through spiritual disciplines and devotion — and why even seasons of peace can quietly erode our connection to the Source of our power. Featuring Mark 9:14-29 alongside 1 Timothy 4:7, we explore the di...

How does a person actually act with knowledge — and where does that knowledge come from? In this episode, we slow down on Proverbs 13:16 and trace the answer back to its root — the fear of the Lord — and forward into the places where wisdom shows up first: your words and your emotions. Featuring Proverbs 13:16 alongside Proverbs 1:7, we explore the root-and-fruit connection between reverence and w...

What happens when you can’t shake that unsettled feeling — and you don’t know if it’s God or just anxiety? In this episode, we look at what John reveals about how the Lord uses our heart as a steering mechanism to guide our decisions. It’s not about condemnation — it’s about direction. Featuring 1 John 3:19–21, we explore why “peace means go, no peace means wait” — and how the Lord uses conviction...

What happens when your relationships are built on control instead of love? In this episode, we explore how the instinct to manage relationships — through distance, over-functioning, or conflict avoidance — keeps us from truly living them. The bridge from managing to living is trust in the Lord. Featuring John 13:34–35, we look at how Jesus modeled sacrificial love on His last night with His discip...

What does it mean to let the peace of Christ “rule” in your heart? In this episode, we dig into the original Greek meaning of that word — and discover that Paul is describing an umpire, not a feeling. We explore what the peace of Christ actually is, how it’s meant to govern our thoughts, decisions, and relationships, and why gratitude is the key to keeping the umpire honest. Subscribe to receive B...

Do you struggle with shame? In this episode, we explore the difference between guilt and shame, and why shame is a liar for those in Christ. Using Paul’s thorn in 2 Corinthians 12, we look at how God doesn’t always remove our struggles — but He transforms them. The key to moving forward from shame isn’t substitution. It’s transformation. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in your inb...

What do you do when you’re called to make peace, but the other person isn’t peaceable? In this episode, we explore why not every broken relationship requires the same response — and why the path to peace with others always starts with being at peace in Christ yourself. Whether sin is involved or not, Romans 12:18 gives us the guide: do what you can, as far as it depends on you, and trust the Lord...

Paul told the Corinthians that he and the Apostles were considered foolish, weak, and dishonorable — and he said it like it was a badge of honor. Years ago, that idea collided with my own struggle with failure and shame. In this episode, I share what I learned: the world determines worth by its own standards, but the Lord settled yours once and for all at the cross. Subscribe to receive Before the...

Paul loved the Corinthians. He taught them, cared for them, and sacrificed for them. In return, they doubted his authority and withheld their love. So what did Paul do? He kept loving. In this episode, we explore what sacrificial love really looks like — and why the love that quits when it isn’t returned was never truly sacrificial to begin with. Subscribe to receive Before theLord devotionals in...

Most Christians would say God is always with them. Far fewer live like it on a Tuesday afternoon. In this episode, we explore what it means to practice the presence of God — and why a believer facing execution under Stalin’s regime might have understood this better than we do. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in your inbox: www.blakescrawford.com / Follow Before the Lord on Faceboo...

Paul told the Corinthians that the only thing required of a steward is faithfulness — not success, not popularity, not approval. So why do we spend so much energy performing forpeople instead of serving the Lord? In this episode, we explore what it means to stop filtering your obedience through other people’s opinions — and why the servant who knows their audience will always know which voice to f...

Jesus wept — the shortest versein the Bible, and maybe the most revealing. But if Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, why did He weep? In this episode, we explore what those two words reveal about how God meets us in our grief — and why His tears tell us more about His heart than His miracles. Subscribe to receive Before theLord devotionals in your inbox: www.blakescrawford.com...

When I think about my faith, I think about Jesus — God’s Son. But there’s another sun worth thinking about, too. In this episode, we explore Colossians 1:17 and what the Sun teaches us about life with Christ — why even a small shift in orbit changes everything, and what to do when you realize you’ve drifted further from center than you thought. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in y...

There are seasons when your faith feels like it’s running on fumes — when your quiet time goes dry, your service feels pointless, and discouragement settles in like fog. In this episode, we look at 1 Corinthians 15:58 and the promise Paul makes to people who are tired: your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Not some of it. All of it. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in your inbox:...

When I think about my faith, I think about Jesus — God’s Son. But there’s another sun worth thinking about, too. In this episode, we explore Colossians 1:17 and what the Sun teaches us about life with Christ — why even a small shift in orbit changes everything, and what to do when you realize you’ve drifted further from center than you thought. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in y...

We celebrate bold action — decisive leaders, fearless risk-takers, the ones who charge ahead. But Solomon says the person who masters themselves has achieved something greater than a warrior who takes a city. In this episode, we dig into Proverbs 16:32 and explore why patience is the harder victory — and why the kind that comes from waiting on God will always outweigh the kind that comes from avoi...

We tend to think of love as warmth — patience, kindness, showing up when it counts. But in Romans 12:9, Paul connects genuine love to something unexpected: moral backbone. In this episode, we explore why love without moral clarity isn’t genuine — it’s merely agreeable — and what it looks like to be anchored in truth as a continuing quality of life. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals...