Category: Trusting God

The Bible study that my hubby and I attend, recently focused on the temptation of Jesus, out in the wilderness, found in Matthew. There are certain aspects of that account, that always jump out at me.

One is that Satan doesn’t even go after Jesus until He’s at His weakest, nothing to eat for forty days. I mean, let’s face it, most of us get cranky when we have to do fasting blood work. The first thing he tries to get Jesus to do is to turn rocks into bread and alleviate His suffering.

I think that scenario is true for many of us. We are often not tempted to sin when everything is going well, but when we are tired, in pain, lonely, or desperate for relief, that’s when we can become targets. I always find the temptation story an important reminder that Jesus, Himself was tempted, so He gets it when we are too. But, that’s also when we can cling tightly to, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

My pastor put a new angle on the account that I hadn’t thought of before. He pointed out that the angels didn’t appear to help, that the supernatural didn’t enter into the fray, until Jesus resisted the temptation on His own. We don’t find the angels attending to Him until He tells the devil, “no.”

My pastor asked us if we had ever found ourselves in a dark situation and wondered if God was really there. Was God really listening? Did He even care?

These questions gave me some serious food for thought.

I can say in my own faith walk that there have been times when God has seemed silent, times when I desperately wanted answers and none seemed to come.

As I look back on those times, I can see that God used them to grow my faith. Do we believe that God is at work when all seems lost? Do we believe that He walks with us when we are at our lowest? Do we believe that He’s present when we see no evidence of it?

When we can answer that question with a yes, our faith grows, which is what it is supposed to do. We can tell our children all day long that they can ride a bike without training wheels, but at some point, we have to let go so they can see for themselves. After they complete that ride, we celebrate with them with some major pride and joy.

Maybe our faith walk is the same. Maybe from time-to-time, God lets go so that we can see how much He has taught us and how much we have grown.  Like any good father, He’s close by and afterwards, He celebrates with us and shows us something new and special that we couldn’t have possibly understood or appreciated  without the struggle.

That little nugget just happened to be something I needed to wrap my heart and mind around. Perhaps you needed to as well.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Yesterday at work, the most popular topic of conversation was that rain was headed our way. Weather is always a well discussed subject in rural Georgia, but lately it’s been the centerpiece of our thoughts as well as our conversations.

We haven’t had rain in 42 long days here and to add to our misery, a good portion of the north Georgia mountains are on fire. In a state known for its humidity, we have become much more like a desert lately.

Rain is one of those things that we don’t give much thought to unless it is interfering with our plans somehow, like a day at the pool or the 4th of July picnic. The other instance that causes us to really think about it, is times when we need it.

Rain is an interesting phenomenon. Too much of it makes the earth flood and causes all types of disaster and damage. Too much rain will kill crops.  Too little of it results in drought. Crops can’t grow without rain. Trees are weakened without rain. We would eventually run out of drinking water without rain.

It’s all about balance. Isn’t it always?

I found myself pondering the concepts of rain and drought all day yesterday. I thought about how our lives go through times of drought and floods as well.

Sometimes we find ourselves wondering if the rains of change will ever stop. There are seasons where we want more than anything for the earth to stop turning. We long for a day of peace where nothing changes and nothing new happens, good or bad. We get to a point where we truly believe that just one more thing added to our already heavy load, will actually drown us somehow.

We don’t dare ask, “what else can happen?” but we think it. We find ourselves praying for peace and stability and we wonder if God hears us.

But, then there are those seasons where we wonder if anything will ever change. We pray and pray for some spiritual rain, for guidance, for a new plan or the next step, or answers, and we find God is silent. We wonder if He’s even listening to our parched prayers as we send them upward.

He hears our prayers in times of floods and times of drought and in every season in between. He is at work in our lives in every season and those who are willing to stubbornly hold onto faith and stand fast, will see His work eventually. Neither His power nor His plan can be missed if we are always at watch for them.

The Bible assures us that we never walk alone. We get assurances like:

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up, the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6

Our forecast reminded me that the weather, like our circumstances, will always change. Sometimes the change is welcome and sometimes it is not. Either way, God’s got this whatever your this may be.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

A couple of days ago, we had person after person, come into the office and complain about the heat. I even heard a few grumbles about how it had never been this hot before in Georgia, in November.

After I arrived home, curiosity got the better of me and I Googled it. Turns out, November 1, 2016, was not the hottest Georgia November on record. That distinction went to November 1, 1961.

It’s not that it’s the hottest November on record; it’s simply the hottest November many of us remember. There is a difference.

That little revelation got my wheels turning and I decided to do a little election research. We’ve all heard that this is the nastiest and weirdest presidential election in American history. Turns out that’s not true. One Google search turned up article after article, listing anywhere from six to ten elections that were just as bizarre.

One of the first was John Adams vs Thomas Jefferson back in 1800. Yep, the Founding Fathers were not above dirty tricks and mudslinging. There was Grant vs Greeley in 1872, where the country was very divided on women’s suffrage and Hayes vs Tilden in 1876, where the electoral votes and popular votes didn’t match. In 1920, Eugene Debs ran a campaign from prison. In 1948 not a poll existed that had Harry Truman defeating Thomas Dewey. Yet, Truman won.

The inherent narcissism of the human race, has every generation believing that this is the worst thing that has ever happened, whatever it may, be from weather to politics. A little search in history, usually proves us wrong.

I get it. Things always look the bleakest when they are happening to us, personally. But, as bad as cancer looks to us now, what did the Bubonic Plague look like to the people who lived in the 13 and 14 hundreds?

Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” It goes on to talk about how we don’t remember men of old or in other words, the people who came before us.

This verse should not only bring us comfort during these times when the world seems so unsettled and strange, but also in our personal lives. There is nothing that we are going through that hasn’t been experienced by others before us, not sickness, or financial issues, or relationship issues, or job issues, or even spiritual issues.

Since God breathed life into Adam, He’s been willing to faithfully stay by our side through all of the uncertainty, if we keep our focus on Him. He will see us through whatever we face if we only trust and obey Him. His word gives us countless reminders if we commit to reading it.

There’s nothing in 2016, that is new to Him. He’s got this.

A hot November day reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂