God Cares When You’re Hurting

Recently I witnessed a beautiful sight as God spoke life in the midst of the ordinary. He knew that His daughter was going through a difficult time, and used a stranger to buy her lunch and leave a love-note from Him. It wasn’t much, but in that moment it was everything to her.

In difficult times we sometimes forget, and can even doubt, that He sees or cares what we’re going through. If that’s you today be encouraged. He saw her and He sees you, no matter where you are, even in a fast food drive-thru line.

He knows and understands the present difficulty you’re going through and feels your pain. Jesus has already walked the path before you and walks it now beside you. He is with you in your hurting. He is with you in the trenches. And He is with you in the fight. You. Are. Not. Alone.

Be blessed my friend,
Ann

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
(‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41:10‬)

How to Find the Road Home

Traveling with my mom as a child, we often found ourselves lost or at least on the wrong road. She'd start the trip off fine, but frequently distracted, would miss an exit or a turn. She wouldn't stop and turn around, even if she noticed the error right away. Her mindset was that as long as we were going in the general direction we'd be fine. Instead of a few minutes to correct our course,  her approach was known to take an entire day or two of extra travel. It drove me crazy. Once I reached adulthood, she was my passenger on road trips. 

Are you someplace in life you don’t want to be, feeling lost and frustrated? Perhaps you’ve been thrown off course by circumstances outside of your control, or maybe it’s because of poor decisions you’ve made. Either way, it doesn’t much matter how you got there, what’s done is done. You can’t ever go back and change the past. What matters is what you do about it today. You have the power to change direction. The future is up to you.  

You can stay where you are, wandering in the wilderness of life—unhappy, angry, and, frustrated—far from your desired destination, or you can choose to make a change. The power is yours. You can determine to move forward each and every day.

Whenever you find yourself somewhere other than where your purest self should be, simply turn.

Turn away from the dark and towards the light. Turn away from the mire of self-loathing, turn back from the pit of acting out, and turn and run from the chains of temptation.

You won’t reach your destination immediately, but if you continue to take steps of faith in the right direction, you will end up on the sweet road to home.

—Ann Wilds

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.'”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭6:16‬a ESV

What Shoes Are You Wearing?

Have you ever found yourself wearing the wrong pair of shoes?

I remember a winter a few years ago when we woke to much colder conditions then our Southern norm. I was excited for the chance to finally wear my leather boots. But as my daughter and I stepped outside to head to the car, I made a shocking discovery. My boots were warm and, oh, so pretty, but they weren’t remotely suited for an icy walkway.

In that moment, my backside felt the brunt of a life lesson. It doesn’t matter how nice or attractive footwear is, if it doesn’t fit the need it’s pretty much worthless.

The same holds true with the shoes we wear in our faith walk. Spiritual flip flops are easy to slip on, but they’ll never be sufficient to take us through difficult terrain or across long distances without tripping us up. 

When the Apostle Paul was headed to Jerusalem, the believers were afraid and didn’t want him to go. They knew that road led to nothing but danger and suffering. But Paul was never one to wear flip flops. God had placed him on the rocky path to Jerusalem, so he laced up his hiking boots and pressed on.

If God has placed you, or allowed you to be, on a difficult path right now know that it’s natural to not want to be there. There’s nothing wrong with asking God to smooth the way, to place you on an easier road. But often time, that’s not His will. We can’t always understand the purpose of the road we’re on, but He certainly does.   

Even Jesus prayed for another option in the garden. He knew the cross lay before him and that path required a serious pair of shoes. But his desire was to only do God's will. He didn’t falter. Wearing steel-toed boots, He saved us all.

A believer’s path will never be completely smooth. In fact, we’re promised trouble. But we’re also promised that we won’t walk alone. We need to stock our closet with footwear suitable for any path we may find ourselves on. Shoes that give sure footing when the way is slippery. Shoes for covering long distances as we run the race. Shoes to step freely without harm from hazards around us. Shoes strong enough to trample the head of the enemy when he attacks. But also shoes of peace as we share the Good News with the world. And shoes for dancing in the joy of the Lord.  

I’ve been on a particularly rocky road this year. And though I’ve prayed for the way to change, this is where He has led me. So instead of praying for a different road, I’m praying for the right pair of shoes to walk it in a way that brings Him glory.

Message for the Journey:

It's hard to focus on much more than your discomfort when you're wearing the wrong pair of shoes. When you find yourself going through diffculty, think less about the road you're on and more about what’s on your feet. Ask God for shoes to walk it well. The right pair really can make all the difference. 

                                                                                                  -Ann Wilds

Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Heb 12:1b-2a

The Essentials of a Prayer Closet

There has been renewed interest lately in prayer closets, thanks in part to the movie War Room. It's basis is found in Jesus's instructions in Matthew 6:6. But what exactly is it?

A prayer closet is anywhere you reqularly go to spend time alone with God. For some it's an actual closet.  For others it's a simple place at the kitchen table, a chair in the corner of a room, or even the driver's seat of their car. 

Most often for me it's a prayer path in our woods where the unhurried rhythmns of creation help me center my heart and mind on the Creator. I do have places inside my house where I study my Bible, journal, and pray. But the woods give me space to sing praises, to cry, to do battle in the spirit, without concern of disturbing anyone except the wildlife. 

It's not important where your prayer closet is or even what it looks like. What is essential though is that you take intentional, unhurried time to pray. 

                                                                                                                                      - Ann Wilds

But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. 

Matthew 6:6

What's Growing in Your Garden?

"Every seed will produce more of its own kind." Genesis 1:11b

Seeds and plants need nutrients in order to grow. Whether it is a vegetable, flower or bush, to mature all require water, sun and food to develop. What differs between plants is just how much they need to prosper.   

The yard at our prior home consisted of a rich, healthy soil. Anything we put in the ground grew well. Yet, my hybrid tea roses still needed additives to reach perfection. The soil at our current home is heavy with clay so it takes a low maintenance plant to survive. When we first planted a garden we had to add a special soil mixture to the bed to help nurture the developing seeds.

Weeds, however, can grow just about anywhere. Though unwanted they find a way to establish themselves in even the most inhospitable conditions. They have even been known to grow through concrete. Unlike other plants, the weed needs little to thrive.

What is true for the plant world is true for human emotions and, in turn, thoughts and behaviors. Only those that receive nourishment grow. However, the less desirable ones thrive readily like the weeds where the more desirable ones—like my roses—require great attention and care to flourish.   

Negative emotions—those like anger, impatience, fear, and doubt—begin with  hardy seeds that grow quickly any time and any where they are given an opportunity. Healthy emotions—like forgiveness, patience, kindness, and confidence—require more diligence from the gardener to become established and prosper.

The best way to tend our mental and emotional garden is through the application of a combination weed and feed fertilizer. God has provided us with a tool perfect for this. Scripture has both the power to kill the weeds of unhealthy thoughts and to feed desirable ones. When we apply it regularly to our lives, meditating on it often, we gain a bountiful harvest from our garden. But when we fail to use it, we often end up with nothing more than a bed of weeds.

Message for the Journey:

The seed that is nourished is the one that grows. Be it a seed of doubt or a seed of faith, a seed of fear or a seed of courage, a seed of aggression or a seed of peace, whichever one is fed is the one that reproduces in our lives.

                                                                                                       ©Ann Wilds

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."

 Phil. 4:8

PawPaw's Penknife

     PawPaw, my grandfather, had a beautiful yard which he lovingly tended with painstaking care. Every blade of grass was neatly cut and every hedge trimmed in a perfect line. PawPaw worked in his yard daily. Rising early, he would carefully walk the yard surveying his domain. If water was needed, he gave it. If nutrients were missing, he fed it. I loved the feel of his lawn on my bare feet. The grass was always thick and lush, a deep shade of green. You needn’t worry about stepping on a briar for he didn’t permit anything but grass to grow in his lawn. He was diligent in watching out for weeds, keeping a vigilant lookout any time he was in the yard. If he saw one beginning to emerge, he would immediately take his trusty penknife out of his pocket ready to do battle. PawPaw would insert the blade into the ground right next to the weed, press the weed against the blade with his thumb and then pull them out together, removing both the weed and its root. He was a warrior and weeds were his enemy.

     Just like a weed in PawPaw’s lawn, doubt can grow in the garden of our faith. It may sprout from a seed within our heart or it may be planted by the enemy. Either way once there, it seeks to take root and grow, spreading from one into many. Yet, every single weed of doubt must be removed for even one can weaken our faith and the power of our prayer. In the book of James we are told that doubt blocks our prayers from being answered.

     If you experience doubt, you are not alone. We don’t start with a full and perfect faith. We are all like Thomas who doubted what the others had seen or Peter who faltered while walking on water. Thomas failed to believe Christ’s promise of resurrection. Peter failed to believe in His power. When we doubt, we fail to understand the awesome character of God.

     Just as we don’t start with a perfect faith, we don’t each start at the same faith level. In Romans we learn that God gives each of us a different measure of faith. Our task is not to achieve the faith of someone else but to grow whatever measure we are given until the one day “we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13).

     While we grow towards the whole measure, weeds of doubt will creep into our faith garden but we have a much better tool than a penknife to eradicate them. God’s word is more powerful than any manmade tool. Along with prayer, it is the most powerful weapon to battle that which would weaken or destroy our faith. Be proactive, ready with scripture to combat doubt when it comes.

     When doubt says:

•  God’s love is conditional. Faith says God’s love never fails for it is written, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness”.(Jeremiah 31:3)
• God will hold my past against me. Faith says God forgives completely for it is written, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us”. (Psalm 103:12)
• My sin is too big for God to forgive. Faith says God forgives all things for it is written, He “forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases” (Psalms 103:3)
• God isn’t good because bad things happen. Faith says God is always good for it is written “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”. (Romans 8:28)
• God is distant and far away. Faith says God is near for it is written“The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth”. (Psalm 145:18)
• I can’t count on God to take care of me. Faith says God meets all my needs for it is written, “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing”. (Psalms 34:10)

     When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He was also speaking to us. To Peter, He said “you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31) To Thomas, He said “Stop doubting and believe." (John 20:27) Like PawPaw we need to be diligent, ever ready to go into battle against our weeds of doubt for we are God’s warriors and doubt is an enemy.