Author Archives: Brad Raby

“And after the fire came a gentle whisper…” – 1 Kings 19:12   Elijah expected God to speak through the dramatic.Instead, God whispered. Advent teaches us the same:God’s voice often travels on quiet air. We want fireworks.God gives whispers. Not because He is distant, but because He is close — whisper-close. Silence is not GodContinue reading “The God Who Speaks in the Silence”

“to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD to glorify him.” – Isaiah 61:3 Ashes tell the truth about what has been lost.ButContinue reading “The God Who Brings Beauty From Brokenness”

“Lord, my every desire is known to You.” – Psalm 38:9 Advent awakens a particular kind of longing:The longing for things to be made right.The longing for relationships to be healed.The longing for hope that lasts longer than a moment. These longings aren’t failures of faith — they’re invitations to deeper faith. They point usContinue reading “The Longing That Leads Us to God”

“We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses…” – Hebrews 4:15 We all have weak places — emotional exhaustion, private fears, old wounds that still ache. Most of the time, we’d rather hide them than name them. Advent says you don’t have to. Jesus entered the world notContinue reading “The God Who Enters Our Weak Places”