Living Above the Fray Begins Within

WELCOME, DEAR ONE! SO GLAD YOU’RE HERE.

Before we dive in, a quick note for anyone new here:

ROOTED in Jesus is a branch of Seeds of Exchange that grew out of a simple longing: to create space for people to encounter Jesus more deeply in everyday life. Each week, on Thursday mornings, we gather from living rooms, coffee shops, offices, cars, and kitchen tables around the world to pray, open Scripture, share stories, enCOURAGE one another, and make room for the One who loves us most.

No perfect faith required.
No insider knowledge necessary.
Just come as you are.
We’re so glad you’re here.
Pull up a chair … and join us from wherever you are.

You belong.
You are so very, very loved.
Join us anytime — all are welcome!

To receive the Zoom link for future gatherings, email us:
connect@seedsofexchange.org

This Week…

An invitation quietly echoed through both of our ROOTED gatherings this week.

Lift your eyes.

Open your heart.

In our morning Devotions + Community Prayer, our dear friend Marie Foote, co-founder of Chronic Hope + Healing, invited us to see above the fray—to lift our eyes beyond temporary circumstances and fix them on the eternal Kingdom of God.

Later that morning, during Contend + Connect, Marie gently led us even deeper. She invited us to bring the hidden places of our hearts into the light of Jesus—not with fear or shame, but with the quiet confidence that His love always tells the truth and always welcomes us home.

At first glance, these conversations seemed to explore different themes.

One looked upward.

One looked inward.

But together they revealed one beautiful invitation.

The peace of Jesus isn’t found by pretending life isn’t difficult.

Nor is it found by hiding the places where we’re hurting.

It is found as we lift our eyes to Him… and entrust to Him everything He already sees.

Above the Fray: Seeing the Unseen

During Devotions + Community Prayer, Marie shared from 2 Corinthians 4:7–18, a passage the Lord had been using to encourage her own heart just the day before.

Paul reminds us that though we are pressed, we are not crushed.

Perplexed, but not driven to despair.

Persecuted, but never abandoned.

Struck down, but never destroyed.

These aren’t words of denial.

They’re words of perspective.

The circumstances are real.

The suffering is real.

But they are not the whole story.

Marie asked a question that lingered with many of us long after our gathering ended:

“What are you seeing right now that is threatening to discourage you?”

How often do discouragement and fear grow because we’ve fixed our gaze on what is temporary instead of what is eternal?

Jesus continually invites us to lift our eyes.

Above the headlines.

Above the uncertainty.

Above the disappointments.

Above the fray.

Not because our circumstances don’t matter.

But because His Kingdom, His promises, and His presence matter even more.

But There Is Another Fray

Sometimes the greatest battle isn’t happening around us.

Sometimes it’s happening within us.

The disappointments we never voiced.

The grief we quietly carry.

The shame we try to outrun.

The offenses we’ve tucked away.

The fears we hope no one notices.

It is often these hidden places—not our circumstances—that quietly shape the way we experience the world around us.

Nothing Hidden: Receiving God’s Healing

During Contend + Connect, Marie continued this beautiful invitation by opening James 5:16.

She reminded us that confession is not primarily about guilt or religious obligation.

It is one of God’s gifts for healing.

Confession, she said so simply, is telling the truth.

First, we tell the truth about what is actually happening inside us.

The disappointment.

The grief.

The resentment.

The fear.

The exhaustion.

Then we tell the truth about what God says.

Healing happens where God’s truth meets our honest reality.

One insight especially stayed with me.

There is a difference between venting and transformation.

Expressing our emotions can be healthy.

But healing begins when we bring those emotions into the light of Jesus and allow His truth—not simply our feelings—to shape our hearts.

Marie also shared from her own journey of living with chronic illness and faithfully following Jesus through seasons of uncertainty. She gently reminded us that our bodies often carry burdens our hearts have never been given permission to express.

Her invitation was both courageous and compassionate:

Tell the truth.

Bring it into the light.

Receive God’s truth.

Walk in freedom.

During our gathering, we entered into a guided confessional practice together. As always, that portion of our recording was paused to protect the privacy of everyone participating and to create a safe space for honest prayer and vulnerable sharing.

Living Above the Fray Begins Within

As I reflected on both gatherings, I realized they were telling one story.

Living above the fray doesn’t begin by escaping the world.

It begins by surrendering our hearts.

When we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we begin to see our circumstances differently.

When we bring our hidden places into His light, we begin to experience those circumstances differently.

One changes our perspective.

The other changes us.

Perhaps that’s why these conversations fit together so beautifully.

Jesus never asks us to ignore reality.

He invites us to see it through His eyes.

He never asks us to pretend we’re okay.

He invites us to become honest enough for His healing love to reach every corner of our hearts.

This is the invitation of the Gospel.

Not striving.

Not pretending.

Not performing.

Simply bringing our whole selves into the presence of the One who already knows us completely… and loves us still.

Reflection Questions

What circumstance has been consuming your attention this week?
Where might Jesus be inviting you to lift your eyes above the temporary and see from His eternal perspective?
Is there a disappointment, fear, offense, or hidden burden you’ve been carrying alone?
What would it look like to honestly bring that place into the light of Jesus today?
Who is a trusted person with whom you might practice confession, prayer, and encouragement this week?

May we become people who see beyond today’s circumstances without denying them.

May we become people who hide nothing from Jesus because we’ve discovered there is no safer place to be.

And may we discover, again and again, that the One who calls us higher is the same One who lovingly meets us in the deepest places of our hearts.

xo, -Sarah DT + the ROOTED in Jesus family of Seeds

Join Us

ROOTED in Jesus gathers every Thursday:

8:30–9:00 AM MT | Devotions + Community Prayer

9:00–9:40 AM MT | Contend + Connect

To receive the Zoom link for future gatherings, email us:

connect@seedsofexchange.org

Learn More About Marie Foote and Chronic Hope + Healing

Marie Foote is co-founder of Chronic Hope + Healing, a ministry committed to making healing accessible and hope normal.

Through transformational three-day intensives, Marie and her team help people experience the freedom of Jesus by walking alongside those who are bound by unhealed stories. Their Christ-centered, Spirit-led approach integrates biblical truth, trauma-informed frameworks, and Kingdom healing and deliverance ministry, helping participants discover the joy of living from their God-given identity in Christ.

If this week’s conversation stirred something in your heart, we encourage you to explore the beautiful work of Chronic Hope + Healing and learn more about their upcoming transformational intensives.

Learn more:
https://chronichopeandhealing.com

Watch the Replays

ROOTED Devotions + Community Prayer

Above the Fray: Seeing the Unseen

Please note: The recording pauses during our community prayer time to protect participants’ privacy and create a safe space for vulnerable sharing. The replay resumes following prayer.