No one may ever know that you changed the song on your playlist to the next one because you realized it wasn’t a song that invited the Spirit.

That you taught your kid about how much you love Jesus while they were playing a game.

That you spent extra time preparing the lesson for family night, praying for what each family member really needed to hear.

That you brought dinner to someone when your life was already chaotic.

That you paid extra fast offerings because you know you area needs it.

That you pulled out your scriptures to read just a couple verses instead of going to sleep like you so easily could have.

That it was really difficult to say “yes” to that calling and to actually show up to fulfill it.

That it was a huge personal sacrifice for you to follow a prompting.

That you chose to not complain when you so easily could have.

There is so much. SO MUCH.

So much goodness that we do in the quiet corners of rooms and homes around the world.

That no one will ever recognize with an award, or even be aware of its existence.

But that’s okay.

We don’t do it for the awards.

We aren’t following Jesus for the accolades and pats on the back.

We’re just trying to follow Jesus and keep our covenants because we love God.

But even if we don’t need the appreciation…

There is someone who is actually completely and totally aware of each little sacrifice that we make to bring more goodness and righteousness into the world.

He sees it all.

Those little moments of courage. Those small efforts. Those quiet displays of solid faith.

And He is actually ready to more than compensate each of us for any sense of sacrifice or effort on our parts.

“Thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:4)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Seeing in secret  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

People who sat at home, not wanting anyone to know that they had been clumsy and twisted their ankle again.

People who were sure their cough would pass on its own, so they didn’t need any help.

People who didn’t want their own family members to know they had been suffering with something that they desperately wanted healed.

“All the city was gathered together at the door.” (Mark 1:33)

Many flocked toward Jesus, begging to be healed.

But that meant that those people admitted they needed healing in the first place.

We all have those “weaknesses” that we are happy to publicly talk about.

Oh yes, I sometimes zone out during my prayers, too!

But what about the stuff that’s harder to admit?

The stuff that we don’t share about nonchalantly in a Sunday School class.

When we try to hide it from other people, do we mistakenly think that we can hide it from God, too?

Bringing our sins and our sicknesses and our weaknesses to the Lord requires a bit of vulnerability and humility.

It requires that we admit that there’s something that actually needs fixing.

It requires that we acknowledge that even if we COULD solve something on our own, everything is always better with Jesus.

Jesus heals.

He heals it all.

He takes our burdens and our yoke upon Him.

So will we go to Him?

Will we rise up and follow where He leads?

Will we admit that we have something that needs healing?

Will we allow the Master Healer to do what He longs to do?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Go to the Master Healer first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My mom was fantastic about throwing great birthday parties each year, but I thought the idea of other people planning something for me without me knowing sounded pretty exciting!

To be totally shocked sounded fun.

Fast-forward to last year, when it was the weekend before my birthday.

I told my husband I just wanted to keep it lowkey this year, and we didn’t have any plans that weekend for me.

In fact, we were running around celebrating our kids’ friends birthdays all Saturday.

We pulled our car into our garage.

Exhausted after a long day, I was the first of our family to walk into our dark home.

And I saw the silhouette of someone sitting on our couch.

My panic instantly set in as I scanned my eyes and saw even more silhouettes on the couch.

I decided that if I was going to die in that moment, I might as well turn on the lights so they knew that I knew that they were there.

“SURPRISE!”

My home was filled with my friends, a delicious homemade cake, and food to share.

It was really fun to celebrate with friends…

But I also learned that I really really REALLY like knowing what is going on!

Arguably the most famous teaching that Amos shares is in Amos 3:7.

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”

There is no big surprise coming.

We know the plans.

In fact, we’ve been planning the party!

We’ve been making the invitations.

We’ve been very involved in gathering everyone together for the celebration.

No need to fear.

No need to panic.

We have been told, and we will be told exactly what we need to know.

I am grateful for no surprises.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Surprise parties first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.