24k Life: Living Every Day Refined by God's Word

By LeeAnn Kirkindoll

Although obtaining physical gold is held in high regard, panning for gold nuggets within the pages of our Bibles is actually where lasting riches are found. And when life’s daily challenges are met with the refining truth of God’s Word, we have the opportunity to emerge as 24k gold--solid, luminous, without blemish and refined to its purest state. The treasured result of that transformation: our lives will become a brilliant testament of Christ’s love as others see how applied scripture can change our minds, refine our actions and purify our hearts.

24k Life is filled with stories, lessons and hope--each entry challenging us to let the messiness of our daily lives intersect with the refining truth of God’s Word. Every devotion is inspired by a color photo that immediately brought a particular spiritual lesson to mind. Some are quick nudges toward actions required to show the love of Christ in our day-to-day routines. Others are more lengthy as we seek to change mindsets that have kept us paralyzed in fear or stuck in old habits that rob us of our opportunities to reflect Christ. Each devo stands on its own and is meant to be focused on throughout your week with scripture memory, deeper personal study and real-life application.

The content in 24k Life is presented as if you were having conversations with a friend. Some entries involve humorous reflections of lessons learned while others reveal vulnerable moments that change the trajectory of one’s faith. Why? Because that’s real life. Sometimes we need encouragement to just laugh at ourselves while other times we need to take a strong look at the habits that keep us stuck in patterns of defeat. And though some struggle with handling disappointments, many are fiercely battling to trust God with the “un-trustables”. Still others of us have simply turned a blind eye to what it really means to represent Christ in our day-to-day. We attend church services, read our Bibles and show up at group studies on a weekly basis--all the while never actually applying what we learn to our own lives. But the hope is that you, just like many of us, are ready to let God refine those areas that need a little work. That you too might have a heart that wants to see Him use your life to draw others to His unfailing love. And if you have never had a personal relationship with Jesus, the hope is that you’ll find Him in the pages of these entries. Because not only does God love you, He also has a very specific plan for your life.

It’s empowering to know that when our mindsets meet God’s point of view, the opportunity for us to emerge ‘solid, without blemish, luminous and refined to our purest state’ actually becomes a reality. No matter your circumstances. No matter where you currently are. No matter where you used to be. This can be the moment you begin a daily journey to emerge as 24k GOLD.

Come and join our Girl Gang of modern day ‘gold-diggers’ who are living a life refined by God’s Word--the 24k Life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Nov 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781400325894

LeeAnn Kirkindoll

LeeAnn Kirkindoll is a women’s ministry leader and nationally recognized children’s room muralist whose heart’s desire is to enlighten women and girls of all ages on the importance of reflecting the light of Christ in their spheres of influence.  Her love of design combined with her passion to encourage others evolved into a unique photo-driven devo connecting biblical wisdom to everyday living. LeeAnn and her husband Gary are native Texans blessed with treasured children and grandchildren.

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DAY 2

Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 NIV

It’s interesting. I’ve never considered myself to be a physically strong person. What about you? But not too long ago, body strength became the topic of conversation with a good friend. She said with confidence, my legs are where I’m strongest. My response back to her was, Well, actually, I’m not strong in any area! We both started laughing because she knows all too well that I’m not a fitness fanatic. Later that day, I kept finding that conversation rolling around in my mind. The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that I could potentially be stronger than anyone I know in one specific area that I’d never considered before. Unfortunately, stronger than I ever desired to be—and that’s MY GRIP.

I have a ridiculously strong grip. And I do believe, God isn’t bragging about me to all of the angels in heaven about this supernatural strength, either. I don’t know about you, but my grip is so tight on the things I hold dear. The people I love. The hopes I have. The future I desire. But rather than God saying, Good girl! Way to go! Instead He’s saying, Loosen that grip and... LET. IT. GO. Not like the infamous movie theme song where out of frustration, you just aren’t going to care anymore. But just the opposite. When we let it go" within the boundaries of God’s loving request, we simultaneously let it all fall into the hands of a God who not only KNOWS MORE but even CARES MORE about those precious details we are trying to control.

What makes it so hard to just open up our clenched fists and give our stuff to God? It’s worth addressing because our ‘control’ of everything is a myth anyway. God, himself, is the only one who holds control of it all. So, can we tackle letting go of some things together? Let’s invite God to speak to our hearts and then practice the following: Let’s loosen our grip. Let’s let the cares of this world fall like glitter floating from the palms of our open hands. Do you realize that not one of those treasured ‘sparkles’ will hit the ground? Our God is there to catch every hope and every dream and place them in HIS sovereign grip.

Dear one, take heart. We can be assured of His love for us in this process. Because, though He asks us to let them go, we can take comfort in the fact that they fall directly into THE HANDS of THE ONE that will never let US go.

Father God, I ask that the enemy have no jurisdiction in my mind—convincing me to try and control every situation and outcome. I ask that if my grip is flexed, that it would be tightly attached to you instead of the people and things of this world. Let today be the day that I LET IT GO—whatever it is. And when I start to pick it back up, will You please remind me to lay it back down again? AND AGAIN, if I must? I’m thankful that the God I serve can be trusted with everything I hold dear. Amen

DAY 3

My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord.

"And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT

Have you been waiting a long time for God to answer a prayer? Has it ever felt as if He may have forgotten you? I know I have experienced difficult seasons like that—and I think we can all agree on how exasperating that can be. My frustration over the unknown has led me down some very unfruitful paths. I’ve questioned God’s love for me and I have questioned His sovereignty. I have even, unintentionally, found myself wanting to help God not ‘lose face’ in front of others by trying to explain to them why He hadn’t answered my prayers the way it seemed He should. These explanations would include statements like: I can see now that the reason He must have us ‘in this place’ is because …. or I believe He is trying to teach me something about…. or maybe even something like, The enemy wants to take us down, but I know God is going to do ‘this’ in the end. Though some of these statements could be true, they would be pure speculation. Thankfully, God loved me too much to leave me with a faulty mindset. I’m not going to lie. It stung a little at first. But it’s changed my perspective on God’s expectations for me as I wait for Him to answer my prayers. I hope it will help you ‘adjust your expression of trust’ on a more accurate level too.

Job answered God:

"I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything.

Nothing and no one can upset your plans.

You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water,

ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’

"I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me,

made small talk about wonders way over my head."

You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking.

Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’

I admit I once lived by rumors of you;

now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!

I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise!

I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."

Job 42:1-6 THE MESSAGE

It’s important to remember here that Job had been through hell on earth at this point in their conversation. He had lost everything—possessions, health, position and his family. And to make matters worse, he had to endure the judgmental statements of his friends throughout this painful process. All of this with no good answer of why in sight. But just like Job, we need to continue to submit to God even when we don’t know what He is doing in our moments of waiting. And we need to accept that it’s okay to not have an ‘acceptable answer’ to give to those looking on either.

Personally, I had to address the fact that I was on a ‘need to know basis’ with God, but He was not on a ‘need to share basis’ with me. I’m now embracing the fact that the greatest peace comes from knowing that in many instances, we won’t understand ‘the why’ until long after the process is over. Some may be insights we won’t understand until we get to heaven! I’m learning that He wants us to spend more time listening to the truth of His Word than trying to figure Him out—that reverence of Him is more valuable than trying to bring His wisdom down to our level of understanding. In fact, that peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7, NKJV) is not found in the answers to my questions. Instead, it’s found in the one who holds the answers. The more we look to the ‘answer-giver’ rather than the answer to our questions, the stronger our personal testimony of His character will be. God’s desired result for us? We won’t be living off the crumbs of what He has taught someone else.

When I began to practice my understanding of this truth, an interesting thing happened. My prior ‘explanations’ of God’s involvement in my life instead turned into ‘proclamations’. These professions of faith began to sound more like this: I have no idea what is going on, but I know God is good. I know the plans He has for me. His Word says He will guide me, rescue me and give me strength to persevere. I’m allowing Him to deepen my trust in Him more and more every day in this situation. Those words point others to an all-powerful God—-unlike our wimpy ‘explanations’ of what we think He is doing—which only cause speculation for those within earshot.

So, examine yourself today. Are your responses to God’s part in your unanswered prayers EXPLANATIONS OR PROCLAMATIONS? Are you guilty of babbling on about things way over your head? It truly matters. Others need the truth of God’s intentions toward you—and ultimately them. And you know, once God and Job got things ironed out, God restored Job and blessed him with more than He originally had. He has YOUR BEST INTERESTS in mind as well. Spend more time talking about your faith than your fear. Proclaim His goodness. God is good all the time. All the time, God is