Author: Wendy

What is Your Ministry?

Posted on by Wendy
We all have a ministry. What's yours?
We all have a ministry. What’s yours?

A friend of mine and I were sitting in the car rider line yesterday hashing out faith questions and religion. She is fairly new to the faith and she has lots of questions and a few complaints. For example, she asked me today how long she would be considered new? That’s a good question, one I never really thought about, but then again, she always gives me lots of food for thought. She went on to ask if there was some type of boot camp or something. I chuckled at that, I told her, not one that I know of.

She dove in head first at her new church and not only attends worship service and Sunday school, but a women’s study too. She says that the life timers treat her differently, but she feels like she has had deeper experiences than many of them.

She raises an interesting point. Those who have spent their lifetimes engaged in church can sometimes lose sight of the life changing, breathtaking beauty of grace. People who have lived much of their lives separated from God feel like grace is as precious and essential as oxygen. It’s brand new to them. It’s a lifeline.

The life timers, as she calls them, know this too, but we can lose sight of, “How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.” New believers are often desperate for knowledge and understanding and those of us who have believed for as long as we can remember, really need to remind ourselves how very important each sheep that has been found, is to God. Maybe we should all do a little better at welcoming them and make a better effort at answering their questions, remembering we were all lost at one time.

They may have questions that we need to be asking ourselves. Her second question for me today and the one that really stuck with me, was what does it mean when people talk about their ministry? I told her that just meant how you share God with the world around you. She wanted to know why they just don’t say that. Maybe we all have a little Pharisee in us with the overuse of religious terminology.

Whatever you call it, all Christians have a ministry. It doesn’t have to mean that you stand in a pulpit and preach every Sunday. You may teach Sunday school or you may keep the church nursery. Your ministry may just be to the little ones you are raising at the moment or it may be being the face of Jesus in your work place. It may be welcoming new believers to the faith and taking them out for coffee. But here’s the deal, if you belong to Jesus, you have a ministry.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to stop and ask yourself what it is. Does it need some definition? Has it grown stagnant? Maybe it’s time to start something new. If you don’t know, pray about it. It’s all about the journey. Jesus is ready when you are.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Can You Feel God?

Posted on by Wendy
Seek and you will find.
Seek and you will find.

My family visited a church last Sunday. It was small. I know small isn’t cool these days. The mega-church is where it’s at. But, my hubby and I are traditionalists. We like small. We realized long ago that we kind of swim upstream where society is concerned. We also decided that we are okay with it. I spoke with the pastor at length, before we visited. After that sweet man, gave me over an hour of his time, he simply said to me, “Come and visit. Either you will feel God here or you won’t.”

Wow, such simple words, yet so profound. There are a hundred different ways to worship. Some people like a rocking service with a complete band. Others prefer kneeling and tradition and quiet. Some feel it’s very important to take communion every Sunday. Some have to have a cup of coffee in their hand while others would never allow food or drink in their sanctuary.

The Bible doesn’t give many specific instructions on the right way to worship. The point is we are there to worship God, our Creator, the Creator of the universe. Personally, I don’t believe that the specifics matter that much. But, that pastor’s words stuck in my head for two weeks before we visited. “When we attend worship, can we feel God?”

In the end, that seems to me to be the only question that matters. As Christians, we don’t worship a far away, absentee landlord, God. We worship a living, breathing God who is very involved in our lives. We worship a God who sent His son to die for us. We worship a God who sent the Holy Spirit to inspire men to write a guidebook called the Bible to instruct us and tell us how to live and grow in spiritual maturity, a book that keeps us safe.

Our God doesn’t strike us down for making mistakes. Our God doesn’t instruct other Christians to strike us down for making mistakes either. Although, there are religions out there who do. Our God is a God of love. The word love appears in the Bible 551 times in the NIV.

So, the question, “Can you feel God?” is a huge question. Feeling God where we worship is of utmost importance, but as I thought about it, I wondered about feeling God in other areas of our lives. Do we feel God when we pray, or in our relationships? What about when we are making decisions? Can we feel God at the family dinner table?

I have found myself pondering this question for a couple of weeks. I think it may be one that we should all ponder. The Bible tells us, “Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

I take this to mean if we seek God, then we will find Him. Can we feel God in our lives? If the answer is, “no,” then maybe it’s time to do some seeking. Can we feel God where we worship? That may be a hard question, but one that needs to be asked. If the answer is “no,” then we maybe need to ask why and do some soul searching.

As for us, in the little church we visited, the answer is a resounding “yes!” and it was awesome!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

To All of the Prayer Warriors

Posted on by Wendy
Prayer works. Let's keep praying.
Prayer works. Let’s keep praying.

Last Tuesday, I wrote a post about prayer warriors and who qualifies as one, and the importance of them. I then asked my readers to please pray for a woman named Carolyn who had been called to go to Sierra Leone to help with education in the Ebola outbreak. You can read that post here, if you missed it. http://gracefulgaines.com/2014/10/14/calling-all-prayer-warriors/

I got such a huge response from that post and many shares on Facebook. Ya’ll are awesome!  She was scheduled to leave at the end of October. I have been praying for her safety and God’s protection over her family and her mission and I suspect you have too.

Today, I received an e-mail from her sister-in-law. Last week, a nurse who didn’t know she was infected with Ebola, flew from Dallas to Ohio to visit her mother and fiance.Can you guess where Carolyn and her hubby live?  If you guessed Ohio, you are correct. The government group that Carolyn works for, has decided due to her extensive training, that she needs to remain in Ohio and help educate the people there. They have postponed the trip to Africa.

Is the hair standing up on the back of your neck yet? This young woman was called to Sierra Leone to assist in the worst Ebola outbreak ever. She willingly agreed to go. She has received training and immunizations to prepare her for this trip that would take her to the other side of the world. She is a very strong Christian who has a heart for God and for service.

Many of us were in prayer for her. Then out of the blue, there is an Ebola scare in Ohio, right where she lives. She has the ability, training and willingness to offer assistance and just happens to live in Ohio.  There are fifty states here in the homeland. What are the chances? God is always at work. He has His hands in this situation. There are no coincidences where He is concerned.

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Do you see how that fits here? Truth can be amazing.

Another Bible passage that came across my desk this week was from Psalms and too good not to share. “If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone….The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.” Psalm 91:9-14

People will say the Bible is irrelevant.  I say that Ebola is definitely a plague.

Prayer works. Please keep praying for Carolyn and her safety. Pray that God will keep her under His protection. Pray that God will protect those exposed to this plague as well as all of the health care workers not only in this country, but all over the world as well, who are working to stop it. God is in control. Let’s all try to remember that as we put on our Armor of God and pray.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Stand Firm and Don’t Panic

Posted on by Wendy
The Lord is my light and my salvation, so why should I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation, so why should I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

As I was taking a walk this morning, I encountered deer at several points along my way. Deer are always interesting to watch. Often as I walk by, they will stop eating and watch me until I have safely passed by and then they go right back to eating. They all stand firm together. But, today as I encountered a group of about six, at first they froze, then as I got closer, one of them panicked and ran. That’s all it took; just the one. The other five followed suit and they all tore off into the woods.

That really got me to thinking about all of the Ebola scare stories going around. Facebook has a ton of them. There was even one yesterday claiming that a family of five somewhere in small town Texas had all come down with it and the entire town had been quarantined. The United States government had initiated martial law. If it were true, it would be terribly troubling. The thing is, it’s not. There’s not a shred of truth to the story.

Ebola is a scary disease. However, it’s not new. It was first discovered in the early 1970’s. So far, only one person in the United States has died from it and the 48 people who were exposed to that man, have not had any symptoms of developing the disease and are set to be released from quarantine this weekend.

We tend to think that whatever threat we are facing, is the worst threat ever to mankind. Every generation thinks that. The times we are living in are quite dark, but I can’t find any place in the Bible where it says we should panic. We are never instructed to live in fear and cower behind locked doors. We are to stand fast and keep our eyes on God, remembering that ultimately, He is in control.

Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation- so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” Those are wise words from King David.

One of the missionaries who contracted Ebola said, ” I thought whether I live or die, it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.” (Nancy Writebol) Those are words of faith we should all strive for. When our hearts belong to Jesus, we aren’t afraid of death. We don’t have to be afraid of anything.

Interestingly, all of those missionaries who got sick, plan on returning to Africa. They have been called. They are honoring the God who called them. They have chosen not to live in fear.

The sad truth is there are over 4,000 people who have died in Africa, due mainly to lack of medical facilities and poverty. There have been only eight cases here so far. Three have completely recovered. Two are expected to recover. Two have just been diagnosed, but are in isolation and stable. Only one man has died. While his death is tragic, I don’t think it warrants the panic that is being pushed by the media.

Quite frankly, I know of one entity who thrives on chaos, deception and fear. I’ll bet you do too. Let’s not give into him. Please join me in focusing on God during this crises. Please join me in praying for the safety and recovery of all people in contact with this virus. Please join me in a special prayer for those people in West Africa. If we think we are frightened here with the best medical care in the world at our disposal, think about how terrified they must be.

God created all people. Jesus loves all people. Let’s pray that all people will be saved from this virus soon. And let’s all try to remember where panic and chaos comes from.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Stepping Out in Faith

Posted on by Wendy
As long as we are following God, it doesn't matter where we are going, we just need to step out in faith and go.
As long as we are following God, it doesn’t matter where we are going, we just need to step out in faith and go.

 

Have you ever found yourself praying for direction in some aspect of your life? It could be a job, a relationship, financial issues, health issues or anything in between. Have you ever found yourself at a crossroads and are really unsure of whether to stay or go? I think we probably have all found ourselves in that place at one time or another. We pray and pray for a megaphone moment, preferably with a GPS or at the very least a paper map.

Sometimes we just get a word or two like not now or go. Now, I don’t know about you, but not now; stay put; is an easier command for me than go. Staying put allows me to stay right where I am. It might not be the best place to be, but it’s familiar. Go, is a little trickier. I’m a planner. I really like to take a map with me that shows me all of the little towns and landmarks I will pass by on the journey. I mean, what if I get lost?

And even after I have found myself praying for a very long time about something, when the answer is go, I find myself questioning whether or not God really meant it, even when the answer has been made very clear for me. Sometimes, when the answer is go, He doesn’t give me any more directions than that. I find myself worrying about where I should go and exactly how do I get there?

Here’s where faith and obedience come in. When you draw close to God and pray earnestly and honestly for answers, you will eventually get them. Sometimes it seems to take a long time, but when you get them, you know. Obedience means following God’s directions. Sometimes they may be, “Go to Ninevah.” as in Jonah’s case. But, sometimes they are much vaguer, like with Abram. “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1

Could God have been any less specific? But, Abram went and God took him on a grand adventure and made an entire nation out of him. He trusted and obeyed. He made mistakes along the way, but he obeyed the call to go. The Bible is full of these people. Moses was minding his business tending sheep when God called him to lead the people out of Egypt. Mary was minding her own business when Gabriel told her she would be the mother of the Son of God.

Each of these people had to step out in faith. They had to step out into the unknown with only their faith in God to guide their steps. But, oh the steps they took and the lives that they changed through their obedience. Were they frightened? Probably. Were they happy about the call to go? Maybe, maybe not, but they obeyed God and left the familiar and went into the great unknown with God as their guide.

Stepping out in faith can be scary, but if we want to grow closer to God, we have to be willing to obey, no matter how big or small the step may be. The fabulous thing is we only have to take the first step and then He will show us the next. If God is telling you to stay put, then by all means, stay right where you are. But, if He is telling you to go, reach out for His hand. A grand adventure is likely ahead of you even if you have no idea what it is. Thankfully, you don’t have to know, He knows, and that’s enough.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

It’s All About Focus

Posted on by Wendy
My son spent Saturday morning making a plastic bag dispenser instead of packing.
My son spent Saturday morning making a plastic bag dispenser instead of packing.

I was running around last Saturday trying frantically to get packed and get ready to haul eight teenagers in two cars first to my parents’ house, and then to a concert. My son, one of the teens, wasn’t attending the concert. He was going fishing with his Granddaddy. But, he still had to get his things packed and loaded into the car. He wasn’t the least bit interested in the task I had given him.

I went into my laundry room and he had every plastic grocery bag I had, pulled out onto the floor and was folding them. I took a deep breath and asked him what he was doing. He told me he needed an empty Clorox Wipes canister. He wouldn’t tell me why. When I asked him if he had his things packed, he told me that it wouldn’t take long to finish what he was working on.

Now, knowing my son like I do, I could have argued with him and ordered him to go and pack. However, he’s a very creative, task oriented sort, and I knew we would all be happier if I just let him finish. I found a canister that was close enough to empty. He then wanted to know if he could use my laptop because he needed to print something. I relented and went upstairs to finish my own packing and getting ready to go.

Twenty minutes or so later, he proudly produced his contraption. He had placed all of the bags neatly in it, eliminating all of the chaos in the laundry room. He had a label on it and even a name to contact when they ran out. (his of course) It even had a handle so that it would hang from the cabinet door. He tried to explain to me how to refill it, but then he told me I could just let him know when I needed a refill.

I smiled at him. It really was a cool little gizmo. I thanked him and asked him to please go and pack his things. He happily complied. On his way out the door, I told him that although his invention was great, it could have waited until he got packed. It didn’t have to be done right this minute. He simply replied, “But, then that would have been all I could think about. I needed to get it done, so I could do something else.”

Ahhh, words of wisdom from a thirteen-year-old. More and more studies have shown that the human brain is terrible at multitasking. When we do more than one thing at once, nothing gets done well. I suspect this goes for our spiritual lives too. we can’t read the Bible and listen to music. We can’t really, intentionally pray while checking Facebook or e-mail or listening to anything. We can’t really worship while playing on our phones.

To do anything well, we have to focus on that one thing. We don’t like to focus on one thing. It makes us feel less productive. The many distractions we put into our lives, think: social media and cell phones have caused us to be a society with collective ADD. The Bible tells us to, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Be still. When was the last time you were really still? Can you remember? I get it. It’s very difficult to be still. There’s just so much to do. I find myself reading the Bible while I’m eating lunch or praying while I’m driving. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with doing that; it’s just that if I want to get the best connection possible with God, (and I do), I need to focus only on reading the Bible at the moment or sit still some place quiet and pray. I think it’s about focus, God focus.

As usual, my son taught me something when I was least expecting it, but I’m used to God using my kids to communicate with me, when I have the sense to watch for it. I’m really going to try to stop multitasking so much and be still more.

What do you think?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Calling All Prayer Warriors

Posted on by Wendy
The world needs more prayer warriors. Are you willing to be one?
The world needs more prayer warriors. Are you willing to be one?

I received a call last night from a friend I hadn’t spoken to in a while. Interestingly enough, I was in the process of writing a post about the importance of making time to stay connected with special people in your life. I am always amazed at God’s timing and how He works in my life. She was filled with worry and anxiety concerning her sister-in-law. She told me she needed a prayer warrior and thought of me.

This is like the third time in the past week or so that someone has referred to me as a prayer warrior. To be honest, I have really never considered myself a warrior of any kind. I’m more of a lover than a fighter and I try to avoid conflict if possible. But, I do believe in the power of prayer with every fiber of my being. I have read about it in the Bible and I have seen it work in my life and in the lives of others way too many times to count.

I looked up the term warrior in a dictionary. The definition is: a person who fights in battles and is known for having courage and skill or one who is engaged aggressively or energetically in an activity, cause or conflict. I do have courage when it comes to prayer. It comes from being redeemed by Jesus. I do pray throughout the day everyday about just about everything from world conflict to our leaders to other people who are sick or lost and then for my own needs. I usually take the top down approach. I am passionate about prayer and energetic. Perhaps I am a prayer warrior. Perhaps you are too.

Maybe it’s important that we realize and accept that we are in daily spiritual warfare whether we like it or not. We can participate through Bible reading, worship and prayer. When we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit can help guide us in prayer. I like the idea of being a prayer warrior. I like the idea of participating with other Christians in fighting evil. I love the idea of being on a winning team. Make no mistake, God will win in the end.

There will be push back from Satan. But, we can put on the Armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18 and be protected by the Trinity.

I told my friend I would be happy to pray for her sister-in-law and I’m going to ask my readers and fellow prayer warriors, to do the same. This young woman has accepted a request to go to Sierra Leone, a country in Africa, with a team, to help educate them about preventing the spread of the Ebola virus. She is a strong Christian and feels in her heart that she has been called to help and called to go. She believes that fear and panic can have deadly consequences and that education is super important to stopping the spread of this deadly disease.

She is a newly-wed. Her sweet hubby supports her decision. Her new family supports her decision. The world really needs people who are willing to offer hands-on help. But, they are afraid for her safety and they have asked for prayers. Her name is Carolyn. She leaves next Wednesday, October 22nd to train in Atlanta and then leaves for Sierra Leone on October 28th. She plans to return on Thanksgiving.

Please join me in prayer for this brave young woman. Pray for her safety. Pray for her peace. Pray for Divine guidance while she is there trying to serve others who are desperately in need. Pray for her family here in the U.S. Pray for their peace. Pray that God will put His hand on all of them in this journey and pray that she returns safely on Thanksgiving Day, having made a difference in thousands of people’s lives.

Let’s put on our Armor of God and get started. The world needs us. Will you join me?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Pick a Date and Time

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes we have to intentionally create space for friendship.
Sometimes we have to intentionally create space for friendship.

I got a text last week from a dear friend of mind. She is one of those heart sisters who I met in church many years ago. Have you ever met someone who you just hit it off with immediately? It was like I had known her my whole life. We had the same high school experiences. We liked the same music. We had the same ideas about raising kids. We viewed life the same way. When she told me her husband was being transferred to Wisconsin, I was devastated. We promised to keep in touch.

We kept our promise for several years. We talked on the phone regularly. Her hubby brought her back here to celebrate her surprise 40th birthday party. When they moved again, this time to Raleigh, North Carolina, we went for a visit. We talked about getting together again. Life got busier and we talked less. We started playing phone tag more than talking. We became Facebook friends and we kept up that way.

But, last week, she had talked to a mutual friend of ours that made her think of me and she sent me a text that said: “I need some Wendy time. I want to catch up. What does your calendar look like this week?” I was thrilled. I missed her too. I texted her immediately and we set up a time and a contingency time. I got called into work on the original time, so we went with the contingency.

On Friday morning, my kids had the day off from school. I made a cup of coffee, went out to my porch and called my old friend. We talked for and hour-and-a-half and got caught up. It was fabulous. It was like it’s always been between us; we just picked right up. We promised not to go so long next time and to set up another date soon.

I thought about our conversation all weekend and the gift of friendship. Life is busy. It will likely always be busy. My parents are busier now since they have both retired, than they ever were before. So those of us still raising kids and all that entails and working too, can’t just hope that someday life will slow down. I don’t know that it ever really slows down. We just become a different kind of busy, which is okay. It’s good to be involved and busy.

But, maybe we should step back from time-to-time and reflect on the people who are special to us and make time to connect. If they are close by, then even if it’s every couple of months, try to set up coffee or lunch or dinner. If they are far away, set up a time to talk. Don’t settle for text, Facebook or phone tag. Make an appointment to talk and keep it.

There’s something about the human voice and its inflection and conversation that can never be truly communicated through e-mail, Facebook or text. Social media can be a great way to keep up, but to stay truly involved, we need to talk to one another, something that’s sadly lacking in many of today’s relationships.

Most of us have been blessed with beautiful friendships, but what we never have enough of, is time. I think that we need to intentionally create some space to keep up with those we hold dear. I think it honors our friendships and it honors God, who gave them to us. I don’t want to miss any of the blessings that come from friendship, by being too busy. I’m so glad she reached out. I’m going to really try and do better with keeping up. Care to join me?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Our Obsession with Not Hurting Feelings

Posted on by Wendy
How far is too far in not offending others?
How far is too far in not offending others?

When I logged onto my computer today, a headline caught my eye. “Washington State School District Bans Swings.” I just had to click on the link and sure enough, a town in the state of Washington has decided that swing sets are too dangerous and they are phasing them out. The highest injuries come from a child getting hit when walking in front of a swing. That does hurt. I have had it happen to me and I vividly remember it. It was at a birthday party. It only happened once though. That was a life lesson well learned. I always gave those swings plenty of room after that incident and I still love to swing today. It feels like flying.

This is just one more school ban on kids’ activities in a list of many. Dodge ball has been banned in many districts because feelings can get hurt and I heard that tag had been banned somewhere the other day. My parents played these games and probably my grandparents. How emotionally damaging can they be?

We have become experts in protecting our children from danger both physically and emotionally, but at what cost? I remember kids having to stand in the corner, not to mention paddling. I even had one particularly creative teacher who dealt with classroom bickering by making the two students walk up and down the hall holding hands for the entire class period. It didn’t matter whether it was boy/girl or two boys or two girls. It was very effective. Trust me, you didn’t cross this woman. Could you imagine this happening today?

We have decided that our children should never get their feelings hurt by adults or other kids and that they should never be embarrassed in class, even if they didn’t do their homework or are disrespectful. Unfortunately, adults aren’t doing much better.

We have the little term not even heard of twenty years ago called, “political correctness.” We walk on eggshells around certain people not wanting to offend anyone. The land of free speech as guaranteed by our First Amendment, has become the land of fraidy cats. We are terrified of saying the wrong thing. They taught us in journalism school back in the eighties that the remedy to bad speech was always more speech, never silencing the offending party. That’s what dictatorships did. When did Americans become so thin-skinned? When did someone saying something that I disagreed with or that hurt my feelings, become hate speech?

However it happened, we are often afraid to speak our minds. So the out of control child at school, or in our neighborhood, or in our church, stays out of control. The co-worker who drives us insane with incessant rants does so unchecked. We can watch people we really care about make very bad decisions, but we don’t dare speak out, lest we be accused of judging.

King Solomon, one the of the wisest men who ever lived, wrote in Proverbs 12:1, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” Ouch! No one likes to get called out. Right? But, he says we are supposed to appreciate someone calling us out and not be angry at that person. That’s a tough thing to do. I’m guessing that’s supposed to go for our kids too.

Paul writes in Hebrews, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Interesting. I have found that to be true in my own life. When my mama made me return the Chicklets I took from Woolworth’s when I was five, I was embarrassed. I never stole anything else.

Perhaps our problem is the further we get away from God and His Word, the more common sense disappears. I suspect Satan loves the idea of humanity running around suing one another and people walking in fear of offending each other. And if kids never get their feelings hurt, can they learn empathy?

This swing set thing really got me to thinking. How much protection is too much? What exactly are we so afraid of? If it’s the disapproval of our fellow humans, it might be time to change our focus. What do you think? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Fearing God

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Sometimes it's hard to reconcile the fear of God and loving God.
Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile the fear of God and loving God.

I recently reread the account of Moses’ birth for a Sunday School lesson I was putting together. I love it when I read stories that I’ve read many times before, that something different always pops out at me. This time it was the short account of the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah. These women were called in before the king of Egypt and ordered to kill all male newborn Hebrew babies at birth. They could let the females live.

We don’t get any conversation about the order on the front end. We are just told, “The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do, they let the boys live.” Exodus 1:17  The king does call them in and question them and they tell him that the Hebrew women are vigorous and the babies are born before they can get there.

The text goes on to say that, “So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.” Exodus 1:19-20

I would love to know what the conversation was like between these two women. Did they even consider Pharaoh’s order? Were they nervous about disobeying it? They definitely knew how brutal the Egyptians could be. We can only wonder about their thoughts, but we know what their actions were, disobedience to Pharaoh and obedience to God.

My entire life I’ve heard the term, “God-fearing,” used to describe strong Christian people or even nations. I’ve often had a hard time reconciling the fear part with our loving God. But, recently I read a blog with the quote, “Fear of the Lord means we don’t have to fear anything else.” Jim Thomas

When I think of that concept and look at those midwives, it becomes a lot clearer. Once we try to grasp the wonder and majesty of God who created the entire world, and sent His son to save us and the fact that He loves us, there’s a reverential awe and respect. It’s different from a terror fear. It’s kind of like when you observe a particularly violent lightning storm; it’s beautiful and frightening at the same time. The sheer power and possibility strikes us with awe and it’s kind of scary.

There is also a fear of what happens when we disobey. God has rules for us because He loves us and wants to keep us safe, much like we have rules for our own children. I don’t believe for a minute, that He sits up in Heaven with a smite button, but when we are disobedient there are almost always consequences of some kind.

Then finally, there’s a fear of separation from God. When we go our own way and don’t repent and pray and try to live in His will, we become separated. It’s a dark place to be, without hope. We can become fearful of everything from circumstances to people. Fear can overtake us.

When I think about it, the world quite a scary place at the moment. We have crazed terrorists who want to kill Christians. We have an Ebola outbreak in Africa that has made its way to the United States. Our politicians are corrupt. Our economy is a mess. The world tells us we have much to fear.

But, God offers a different view altogether. Proverbs 1:7 says that, “The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge.” In Acts 5:29, “Peter and the other apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than men.” The apostles in the Book of Acts were fearless and the Holy Spirit was all over the place. There were miracles everywhere.

Fearing God sets us free from all other fear because what we fear is of this world. He is not of this world. I think living fearlessly of worldly threats and strife sounds pretty good. What about you?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂