Good morning, Sweet Things! I’ve sure had you on my mind this morning. I just got back from a long brisk walk with Star and took in the wonder of God through stormy thick clouds and heavy winter winds. (Think South though. Everything’s relative here.) I had planned to work out on my equipment in the garage but once I saw the cool wind whipping the leaves off the trees, I couldn’t resist getting out in it. I thought I just might feel a hint of God in that great northern and I did. I told Him how mighty I think He is and how wonderful. How capable He is of doing utterly anything. How nothing is impossible for Him. Then I asked Him certain things and, even though I don’t know exactly how He will answer, I know that He will indeed answer.
Oh, Sisters, we are among the most blessed people on this planet. Do you know today how blessed you are?? We have the King of the universe to look to and to be loved by. He planned for each of us before the foundation of the world and even chose the works we would do in His great name. (Eph. 2:10) He intentionally set us in our generations and planted us with divine purpose in our parts of the earth. (Acts 17:24-27) I am amazed by Him this morning.I don’t want to take divine intervention for granted. We – you and me – are the stuff of miracles. Even to discern the living, breathing voice of God through His written Word is a wonder.
I am anxious to hear from you through today’s Talk To Me Tuesday topic! I’d like to know about a time when you were desperate for divine wisdom in a particular area (whether relational, work, ministry, or otherwise) and you had no idea what to do. You sought God and you received wisdom that you are certain only He could have given you. For all you women who have walked with God for ten or more years, one thing I’ve noticed on this blog is that we are actively mentoring our young women whether we realize it or not. We have many college-age women in this community as well as a number of high school girls that post comments often. Have you seen them on there? It blesses me every time! They are looking to us to help them learn how, among other things, to hear from God and discern direction. Share today (as succinctly as possible!!) how you received wisdom from God to do something that you know you wouldn’t have figured out any other way. This is not limited to all of us mentor types, however. Scripture proves through examples like Samuel and David and Timothy that God speaks to the young as well as the old.
Talk to me, Siestas! When have you lacked wisdom, petitioned God earnestly for it, and known without a doubt you received it?
PS. I almost forgot! If you used one of your Siesta’s recipes for Thanksgiving, tell her, too!
One of the most vivid times that stands out to me is when I had just become excited about serving God as a single woman. I was 22, had never wanted anything more than to be married and have a family. But there was nothing on the horizon. When I really got to that point of peace about being single, I noticed that the young college student minister seemed to be paying quite a bit of attention to me. I got scared in a sense, because as much as I really liked him, I didn’t want to compromise God’s calling on my life if marriage wasn’t in the picture. I prayed and prayed about it. I was reading through Genesis at the time, and one day I read the story of when Abraham’s servant went to find a wife for Isaac. He found Rebekah, but it was all moving so fast that even her family didn’t know how to take it. But they asked her what she was willing to do, and she said, “I will go.” God spoke to me in that moment and told me that I needed to “go” with this young man.
He proposed just a few weeks later, before we’d even dated…and we’re now busy planning how we’re going to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. 🙂
Angela, This story is amazing. I am a single 22 year old right now and I am patiently and eagerly awaiting my earthly prince! I love this story because I can’t tell you how many stories I have read about godly women who surrender their desire for marriage to our faithful God…who fully trust in His timing and plans and who turn around and receive the blessing rather quickly! Don’t get me wrong, I know that my Lord may have plenty of time for me to wait, and I am completely okay with that. But it is still always so exciting to hear how Christ is so faithful to those He loves!
One thing that the Lord has given me divine wisdom about so many individual times is HOW TO KNOW HIM! I have asked and asked because I desire to truly walk in His Spirit, to truly know Him. Without a doubt, He has…”shown me the path of lie, in His Presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore!” (Where Christ Jesus is seated!) Psalm 16:11
Wow! That is an amazing love story. I have a similar one and am going on 19 years of marriage. God has an amazing plan for each one of us individually and as marriage partners.
What a wonderful, inspiring story.
Wow! What a beautiful story!
I was around her when this was all playing out! It was crazy and a total shock to me when I found out they were getting married. And I have to confess to being a little disappointed to find out they were getting married, because first of all, I thought, “Great, I’m losing another friend to the married world!” And second, and this will be the first time she’s heard this, I had a major crush on her now husband, Bill. I promise you, Angela, I’m totally over him! Not that he’s not a great guy and all. I think we’re just too much alike for that to have ever worked. You two are waaaaay better suited to each other! It’s a good thing God is in charge of these things and not me! Can I get an Amen?!!!! Besides, I hadn’t met the incredibly handsome, unbelievably sweet and cool and awesome Josh Paparazzo!
God has granted me wisdom in many things throughout my walk with Him. One thing that really stands out to me, and oddly I am surprised everytime, is when I seek His wisdom as to what Bible study I should start once I’ve finished one. He always has lead me directly to a study that is exactly what I need for that season. I may not recognize it right away, but several weeks in I will realize tha it is right on target for my life at that time. Everytime I am just amazed at it. I guess that is because He is amazing!!
That is cool and so encouraging!
I borrowed the pumpkin layered cheesecake from “Lucy from PA”! Lets just say I didnt send leftovers home with my guests! I was being very very stingy and I have loved every last calorie in that cheesecake recipe! I make a caramel pecan cheesecake each year but this year I tried this one and it has replaced all other cheesecake recipes for me!
As far as the wisdom piece of this post. The past 3 years I have been seeking wisdom in so many areas in my life. He put so many people in my path to help me, to teach me and to keep me on the path. One time in particular I was needing to have a conversation with my then husband (now ex husband). This as well as any conversation that I had to have with him induced a panic in me and I would freeze up and was not able to stand up to his domineering tone with me. I left the house to go to the store just to get out for a minute to catch my thoughts. I sat in my car at the grocery store with my eyes closed and my head on my steering wheel. I was singing the song “I cling to the cross” and I was pleading with God to give me the strength, the courage, and the wisdom to find the right words. And above all let me see that he was with me—please!!! I was pleading, I was crying, I was trying to catch my breath and sing all at the same time! When I opened my eyes, God was in front of me. He gave me 2 clouds in the bright blue sky that formed a cross with a small puffy cloud at the bottom of it. Then there was a rainbow stretching through that puffy cloud touching the ‘cross’. I knew right then he was right beside me and wouldnt leave me. The sky was perfectly blue, no rain in sight, no reason for a rainbow. Well except for God to show me he was there. I drove home in the opposite direction feeling at peace with the conversation that needed to happen. I pulled in my drive and as I walked inside, can you guess what I saw in the sky again? Yes, that same cloud and that same rainbow! This was the first of many ‘rainbow’ experiences that I had over the next 6 months of my life, as lots and lots of changes occured in my relationship with my exhusband, myself and my relationship with God. God has been there for me and shown himself to me so many times the past 3 years. I’ve had so many different scriptures speak to me over that time. The current one is Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord and he answered me, he delivered me from all my fears.”
Lisa
Back in the spring my husband decided he no longer wanted to be married so we separated. I knew the children and I would need a smaller house. My daughter asked where we would go and I told her that I didn’t know where but I was sure the Lord had the perfect home already picked out. She responded that she wanted a particular house in my parent’s neighborhood. I told her that we would pray for it and if it was God’s will for us to have that particular home we would have it. She laughed and said, “Mom, someone lives there!” I told her we would pray anyway and we did.
The next morning in a way only God could provide, through another teacher at school, I found out that the people living in that very house were moving and the house was going to be available the week school got out! It’s across the street from my parents, six houses down from my children’s best friends, 5 min from my daughter’s school and 10 min from my school!
I called a friend that teaches at my daughter’s school to get her out of class so I could tell her that God had answered her prayer in less than 12 hours! We have been settled in for about 6 mths now and we love it here! What a faith builder for my daughter and we have been able to share God’s faithfulness with many others through this story!
Pam, I love your story! How encouraging to hear how, during such a difficult time for you, God not only met your needs, but also the desires of your daughter’s heart. Thank you for sharing this.
Your email really touched my heart today. Praise God for His glorious riches…after all, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills!
Hello Beth and Sisters —
My husband is ‘home’ after being gone for 6 months. we were separated. He is home, but does not ‘want’ to be here. He is in rebellion — he is ‘still in love with the other woman’ . wE have a 20 year old and a 15 year old. EVen this Sunday, I was desperately asking God – do I continue to ‘stick it out’. You see, I know I heard directly from God in Sept. of 2009 via Kay Arthur at a Further Still conference in Orlando to HANGITH IN THIER BABY . .and I have been ever since. When the affair was revealed – 7 months ago, he left. He is now home – but . Anyway — how has GOD really spoken or confirmed something to me?
This past weekend, via prayer and godly friends and their enccouragement — to hang in there, I felt God was reminding me not to waiver and wait it out. Then I went to church, and my pastor spoke out of Gen. 32 . .about how Jacob and God wrestled and he would not let God go until he got his blessing. Then my pastor said, “so many of us give up before we get that blessing – press on , wait it out”. . I sat there in awe. Then later that day, as I opened my Believing God daily devotional – I read from Beth – Luke 9. 26 I think — on November 28th — about how when we get God’s confiramtion — we should not look backwaards. As God knows we will question and HE does not mind that but not to let our unbelief take us backwards. and boom – I had confirmation 3x that day and this most inner most PEACE. REally — wow. God, since Sunday has kept me happy joyful, showing mercy to my man and waiting it out. I so believe in the man that God wants him to be – I am going to believe in this restoration. I had asked God to be bold and speak to me .. as I was too weak to figure it out — HE did. I love HIM for that.
I will wait this out.
Thank you Lord.
Michelle
Okeechobee, FL
michelle – you are a woman to admire. i am confident that our great God will give you ALL you need. He can’t be anything but faithful! i heard joyce meyer say recently that “once you start doing things that you know are right even when you don’t “feel” like it, that is when you will truly grow spiritually” that is you, friend. i am praying for you by name tonight, friend. God bless you and your husband, both.
with love, caroline 🙂
This is powerful to me–thanks for sharing it!
Michelle,
I’m praying for you.
Hi Michelle! I respect you 100 % for sticking it out. It shows wisdom and courage that you can’t imagine! Is your husband a believer or non believer? Just curious! I think as long as your have your heart invested in God that no one on this earth can break your heart. He will give you the strength you need and the love you need to see this through. I believe that. God bless you.
Thank you for posting this. I’m in the same season of marriage as you are. I know God has confirmed my waiting it out as well, but the enemy has really been attacking lately. Your post re-confirmed for me that God’s got it. Thanks.
Thank you for this. I’m not in the same situation, but waiting for God to move in the lives of others, and waiting for them to respond, is HARD! Thanks for the encouragement – I think God just spoke to me through you. 🙂
Michelle,
This touched me today in ways I cannot express. I needed to hear it! I will be praying for you and your family.
Dawn in Wisconsin
Michelle,
Thanks so much for sharing your story. I am praying for you and your marriage.
In His love,
michelle
Howdy!
I will copy from my notes:
2 Chronicles 15:7 (NASB) (#24-memory verse #24)
“But you be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”
Direct answer to prayer about Granny situation and on same night reminded of the calling and gift of my jobs (therapist, wife, mother) evening of 8/18/09!!!!!!! 🙂 (end of quote from notes)
I had sought wisdom and guidance from God for the stress and strain of caring for an elderly person in addition to the responsibilities of home when my schedule was going to condense considerably with the start of school responsibilities(I work there, too.).
I can’t remember now if God gave me the verse through Bible study/reading, listening to teaching, or from church or other reading. I do know that I had developed habits to include all of those sources into my week, if not each day. 🙂
I have had other answers in Bible verse form, one of which was directly from our Ruth Bible study this summer!
I loved how you gave such a good example, Beth, of talking to God this morning! 🙂
Enjoy!
Paula from Brownwood, Tx
Oh where do I even begin? The most recent of seeking God’s wisdom is in the realm of finances. We had a home built back in 2006. The plan was to live in it a few years and then move from the area in which we currently live in. Under the Lord’s direction, we financed our home with a 6.35% interest only 7 year arm. We all know what happened to the housing market. My husband and I both know if the Lord desires for us to move, He will sell the house at His price and bring in the buyers He wants to live here. A few years ago many of my friends began refinancing their homes at much lower interest rates than mine and was not having problems getting the loans they needed. Because they were doing refinance, I thought I would try too. I hate to admit this, but I never asked God what He thought. He would have told me NO, and I like to think I would have obeyed and not have wasted endless hours like I did having every mortgage company to tell me no, I could not refinance at this time. I felt the Lord telling me a few weeks ago now is the time to call my mortgage company and talk with them about refinancing. We have locked into a 4% interest rate and will pay the house off in 15 years or less. Only God could do this. If He had allowed me to receive the other rates my friends had, I would be paying a higher rate for a longer period of time.
I pray I learn to ask God for his opinion on all things. His opinion is the only one that really matters. 🙂
Oh Terri, I hear ya! Why do we do things on our own instead of waiting on the LORD’s timing on things! Praising the LORD for your blessings. I too pray that I will learn to only seek the LORD’s opinion!
Asking God for wisdom and receiving an answer has happened to me over and over and over. If my emotions are in turmoil, I ask to make my desires the same as His. However, most of the time I didn’t receive my answer unless I was willing to do anything He asked. Then the answer usually became crystal clear. . .but not always right away. When it did come, I knew it was the answer. . .It almost always took courage to implement!
Wow, what a great point. We must be willing to DO what it is He answers! I think many times people pray for God to do what we will! In that we seek to make Him our servant. Whew…..
Peace,
Cynthia
“How you received wisdom from God to do something that you know you wouldn’t have figured out any other way.”
Two years ago, my pastor asked women of the church to find 2 younger women to mentor. God had already been dealing with me on this. My mentee happened to be sitting with me in church that night….God had reunited us that very week, after 15 years of separation (I had been her Sunday School teacher when she was a teenager). My “two” had turned into “one”. I whispered to her that she was “my two”. Little did I know…..i could not have handled two like her!! I do love her so much!!
As it turned out, she is a drug addict. I had no idea @ that time, but God surely did. So for the last two years, I have been walking with her in her addiction. I had previously had NO experience with this type of thing. Talk about a learning curve. I have been trying to love her unconditionally while not enabling her to continue in her life of sin. A delicate balance indeed.
Over, and over, and over God has given me wisdom and insight into her drug use. He has revealed to my heart and placed thoughts in my mind in the most random manner, that she was using, or about to use, or for me to just call to encourage her in her thinking….how not to believe lies about God or herself and her past, and what the truth is…who the Truth is!! I have no other explaination for how I would know about what she needed or a confrontation that needed to be made.
She has always asked me and still asks me to this day….”how do you know”? I tell her that my Father tells me. Not sure why He chooses to reveal it, other than He loves her so much!!! I remind her of His umbrella of protection over her and that it is not always guaranteed if she continues to use drugs to destroy her life. Today, she is struggling, and He impressed me to call her…. and she asked me how I knew….told her my Father tells me. I told her that if she uses today, she is sinning just like if I overeat today, I am sinning. Told her that God is holy and loves her too much to allow her to continue to sin, without a consequence. Same for me. She assured me that today, she made it without using. She is sober, today. She was sober yesterday, and I pray she will be sober tomorrow. Praise the King!! Thank you, Jesus, for your wisdom when I couldn’t have figured it out any other way. Thanks, Beth for the blog today.
ok friends, my dear ones…i have been flat on my back for the better part of the last year suffering from a spinal fluid leak or two…it ain’t been fun. i have three sweet, adorable, precious, and rascally babies under the age of six. so, because of this illness, i haven’t been able to be the mom/wife/friend/daughter/ME that i’ve wanted to be the last year. (the story is loooong, but really i will spare you, but basically i have severe headaches and other weird symptoms whenever i am upright because spinal fluid leaks out and my brain sags)…so flat, i have been….about 23 hours a day for the last four months straight. and off and on for the last year. how can this be good? how can NOT being able to live my life i love be a GOOD thing? let me assure you that God has heard those exact words from my stinky mouth many times in the last twelve months. but, He loves us SO much friends, He can handle all our junk. trust me, if He can handle my junk, He can handle anyones! 🙂 and He loves us so very much still. Thank you so much, Jesus! friend, have you ever felt a calling on your life? do you feel you have a talent at all? i have always felt “bad” about being “good” at anything. have you struggled with insecurity like that? i surely have. but my adorable six year old reminded me what he learned at our awesome church recently…”mama, God makes us all special and if we don’t use those things it is like if God gave us a birthday present and we never, ever opened it.” wisdom from my kids. well, actually, wisdom from my great God through my great kiddo. even cooler.
for me, i love to write. i always have. and i felt God calling me to just blog about what I’ve been going through, but more importantly what HE has been teaching me through it. oh, what a blessing. oh, what a joy! this has created a sense of freedom in my heart that i can hardly put into words. i get to talk about my Jesus and all is doing. oh, how our enemy would love for us to think we can do no good. i surely thought that so very much while lying on my couch for MONTHS watching the world go by. but, oh, sweet friends, i encourage you to seek Him and find out what He has for YOU to do. He is so giddy just sitting there waiting to come to Him.
i did this. i found myself with a WHOLE lot of time on my hands. a lot of time for Bible study and searching my heart and motives and everything. and i found that God has been there, right there, waiting for this kind of intimacy with me. He’s been waiting this WHOLE time. and when i sought Him, TRULY sought Him…i found that He wanted to take all my fears, all my worries, all of my insecurities and my controlling nature. He wanted to do away with all of it. instead He’s wanted to replace it with His peace, His joy despite my circumstances, and His absolute faithfulness. i sought Truth in His Word and in spite of doctor after doctor having no answers. in spite of closed medical door after closed medical door… i just had to keep clinging to His Truth in His Word. oh siesta, i encourage you to do the same thing.
then, one day…weeks after having a procedure to help my condition, i was having a pity party (i’m such a social person, but i’m not sure about you, but i’m always the ONLY one who attends those parties!) and He spoke to me to get up and live my life!! didn’t make much sense, really. i didn’t “feel” like this procedure had worked, but i wanted to be obedient. i wanted to be faithful. so…for about two weeks now, i have been slowly but surely getting up and living my life. i am a slow puppy, let me tell you. in two weeks, i have worked up to being upright enough to be able to do a few dishes, a couple loads of laundry and change a few diapers throughout an ENTIRE day…but, oh i can’t tell you how thankful i am. how very, very thankful i am for these precious things i have missed so dear. do you know that He is waiting right there for you as well? oh He desires such close intimacy with each of us. He wants us to be aware of how special He has made us…He delights in His kids. may you seek Him and find more than you ever imagined. and may you have the courage to get up and live the life He has for YOU as well, my dear sweet friends. (ps. i am going to try and drive a car next week! wahooo!!!)
Having been raised in a rural town and then becoming a teacher in an inner city public school was a divine appointment from the Lord. As I look back, there were many instances where the Lord imparted wisdom into my situations as I earnestly sought it. For one, a girl was extremely behind with her reading ability. If she didn’t improve mid year, I would have to fail her.
I began working with her during lunch/recess and I found out she was a very troubled child. She told me things that raised the hair on the back of my neck. She was confused and afraid to live in her own home. I prayed for her….not with her……and then I was awaken one night by the Lord and he showed me what to do. I had to have the girl’s parental consent…..and I got it. It might sound trite…..but I bought her a kid’s beginner bible on her reading level and above…..I told her that when she felt afraid at night to open it up and begin to read it……..it had questions and related prayers to pray.
She often came to school and told me she did what I told her to do and she felt peace in her heart. Her whole countenance changed over time…..and by mid year she was reading at grade level.
Gwen, Thank you so much for sharing this! I am a special ed. teacher, and I love this story!
I became a Christian in my freshman year of college. During my sophomore year (I think) A man from my church began paying me special attention. We flirted (as much as I am able, I’m not a good flirt by any stretch) for a few months and then one afternoon took a walk through a beautiful botanical garden in my hometown. We officially started dating the next day, a Sunday. I realized pretty quickly that this might not be the best thing for me and more importantly that I hadn’t consulted God in any of it. So I began praying. After 3 days the man told me he Loved Me. Like actually said “I Love You.” Kind of made me a little nervous because that’s WAY too quick for me. So I continued to pray, and asked him to allow me a fast from him so I could discern God’s opinion on the matter. I forget how, exactly, how but God impresed upon me that there wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with this man, but that he was, ultimately, distracting me from my walk with Jesus, and Jesus wanted me all to himself for awhile longer. The next day, doubting the truth of my vision, I prayed that God give me a sign that I was doing the right thing. When I sat in my car in a local park and broke it off with this man he didn’t say anything for quite awhile and then he said, in all seriousness, “Well, I guess now I just have to decide if I’m going to keep the faith or walk away.” And in that moment, I knew that I had done the right thing. This man was not a Pursuer of God for the sake of that relationship. He was not a good match for me. I have never once regretted that decision since then. And I am single now at 32, 14 years later.
I was teaching a preschool for the first time and had run out of ideas. There were also some organizational problems I had to solve. I had used up all my resourses and had no where to turn. One day I was reading in the book of James where if we lack wisdom all we had to do was ask and believe God would answer us. So I prayed a simple prayer that went something like this. “Father God your word says that if I lack wisdom all I need to do ask and believe that you will answer me. So I am asking for help with the preschool what do I teach and how do I structure it so that all the students needs are met. I know you will answer me so I an going to look for ideas on the internet and trust that you will lead my mouse to find the right ideas.”
I began my planning and searching for the next weeks lessons and what would normally take me well over two hours I was able to get done in 30 minutes. The really awesome thing is that the organizatinal problem I had was resolved as a result of my prayer and trust in our God to keep his word. The system I set up was used for the following year after I left.
I learned that God keeps his word. He says if we lack wisdom just ask, only believe. He doesn’t even get upset or impatient that I asked. HE just wants me to believe.
I also learned that we all need wisdom to do every day tasks like how best to clean my home, how to deal with fighting sibblings, what to do at work when nothing seems to be working.
Our God is so awesome!! He helps us with every part of our lives. I am so greatful.
I love it when God whispers something to you and you heart skips a beat as if to say…Yep, thats Him…this is the way to go!
I have 2 vivid instances, 1 old and 1 new.
When I first went to college, I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. Only picked colleges that offered marine biology…worked at an aquarium as a volunteer…very gunho of me! However, my brain doesn’t function that way…and in my sophmore year, my GPA was dangerously low. So as I was praying about it and seeking counsel from my friends, my roomate says to me, “Why don’t you try teaching? You love kids and you can teach anyone anything…think about it.” And I said, “Me? A teacher?” And I got that skip a beat heart thing…and it was like aha! Yep…and as soon as I started taking education classes, my GPA went to a 4.0!
Second instance had to do with my finances. We were struggling big time, and I knew it was a pride issue for me. I’m a control freak, and I thought I could do it all by myself, but also knew I was failing miserably! So, I prayed…gave it up (over and over and over…till finally I was serious) and as I was walking by a friend (also a mom of one of my past students) I remembered that she was a financial consultant. So I asked if she knew anyone who could help us, and she volunteered to help us for FREE. Now, how did I know to ask her for help? It was just an inkling, an inner voice telling me…God.
Like I said, I love the whispers…
Hello!! You are such a blessing, needed in just the nick of time. My world has fallen apart over the last 4 years and I am in the midst of putting it back together. I finished up, last night, with some ladies from my church your series on Esther. WOW!!! So tonight I came on your site to find some more “love” and “guidance” from you. I found your blog and am amazed at your love and strength. Thank you so much for being such a blessing to so many people, not only those of us on the other side of the is puter, but also with your family!!
Dec 1, 1967….the day I prayed for God to show Himself to me, did He really love me like they said He did. He did an amazing work in my life. I was almost 16, pregnant and scared to death. That is now 43 years ago. Thru only His plan I married the young man who had the courage to tell me “Jesus loves you and He wants you to know.” I was more than a rebel and life was all about me.
That baby girl grew up to love Jesus like no other. She prayed us back to the Lord on a few occasions and serves Him faithfully. God has more than once showed His faithful love to me, even when I was unfaithful.
The day that young man finally called to tell me he loved me, wanted to marry and wanted his baby…WOW! I hadn’t heard from him in months, knew he had joined the Marines. Just hours after I layed this down at the altar and surrendered to God my future, a phone call came, it was him. 43 years, oh how I wish I had applied myself to Him all these years.
I think of the struggle I’ve been going through lately, a health struggle. I don’t remember praying exactly for wisdom. I was praying for help!! I kept thinking I could not make it unless I saw my “counselor.” He has made very clear to me that JESUS is THE Wonderful Counselor. My counselor proved to be inaccessible at this time. I think God is over that. The lessons I’ve learned from this are bringing so much peace; I’m learning to trust Him so much more.
This is a small example of how God answered a question of mine several years ago. During my daughter’s senior year of high school, she brought home a 4 week old kitten that had been dropped off at Walmart. Zoey was so weak that we fed her with a bottle until she could eat. We were very attached to her. It was as though Zoey’s purpose in life was to delight us with her antics. We laughed that this entertainment was better than TV. When she was 4 months old we had let her outside in our front bushes where she would play for a half hour, when a dog in the neigborhood came into our yard, found her and mauled her. We heard her crying and saw her in his mouth. We took her to the pet hospital but she had to be put down. We were so sad. My biggest concern was that she had to suffer and I told God that I wanted to know why he made the animal kingdom like that-the violence and pain. (I didn’t blame the dog). Over the next 2 months, I told God that I would not leave him alone–that I wanted an answer. I never told my daughter any of this. One day my daughter was reading from her psychology text and began to read from the chapter. It said how in the animal kingdom, when animals maul other animals, endorphins are released and so the pain is gone. And then it said (in this public school textbook) that this must have been God’s design so that the animals wouldn’t suffer. I loved that He answered my specific question that way.
My ‘seeing God at work’ begins with home educating my four sons. During my oldest son’s 8th grade year, I sensed God saying “This might be the last year that you home school Jon!” That sounded expensive to me because I really wanted my sons to get as much of God’s truth as possible in their education. There was a Christian school not far from us but I didn’t know hardly anything about it. I prayed. A close friend who had had children in public, private, home and boarding school gave me some advice when I spoke of not being able to afford the private school. She said that if it was good academically, in athletics and arts, in everything except financially, that that is when God calls us to step out in faith. We did. Twelve years have passed including 13 years of that private high school and 10 years of Christian College tuition and I can tell you story after story -even to today about how God has met our needs. My children have understood that God has led them and provided for them in their understanding of God, their teacher’s influence and their friendships. Oh, what we would have all missed had we not stepped out in faith to send our children to this bridge between being home and being on their own in college. We had to refinance the house twice but again- we have been daily dependant on His care and provision and we are in better shape now financially than we have ever been- still in the thick of things 🙂 It is good to trust the name of our God!
Oh please, easy for me…M-A-R-R-I-A-G-E is the place I will ALWAYS need God’s wisdom…loudly and clearly! It’s like, ‘don’t whisper God, I need ya to hep me!’
To any engaged or single 20’s & 30’s out there…. you know the saying ‘marriage is hard work’? I used to wonder what people meant by that but they never explained it. To me it means facing the selfishness in your own heart every day. It’s exhausting sometimes. BUT…then there’s the saying ‘there’s no substitute for hard work’ and that is also very true.
Last week I was at the grocery store and as I passed the floral dept I thought, ‘gee, I’ve been sick for 2 weeks and still took care of our toddler without complaining and on and on…some flowers sure would make my day.’ As I was just about to take several justified laps in my mind around the pity pool, I thought, ‘I’m too tired to dwell on that, my man works hard too.’ and never mentioned it to him.
Three hours later my doorbell rings. I looked out the window to see a floral van pulling out of my driveway and an autumn bouquet of flowers on the porch from my hubby.
I knew that I knew that I knew it was God telling me He heard my heart and just wanted me to know. That moment of intimacy with the Lord completely renewed my faith that He is with me, and wants my husband to get the credit.
Your story brought tears and laughter. 🙂
Oh how Gracious & Merciful our Father in Heaven is!! My heart breaks in a million pieces every time I look at my beautiful 9 year old son and remember what the LORD has done for us.
Although there are no outward signs, my son was diagnosed with mild Cerebral Palsy when he was 5 yrs old. He had several physical challenges, including a neural hearing loss of 50%, speech impairment, & compromised vision. Christian had very low self-esteem, and sincerely hated school….at age 5. The Dr told us that with the proper treatment, he could overcome the challenges and live a normal life for the most part by the time he was 18-19 yrs old. The problem was we live in a small community rather than a big city and there were no schools or clinics that dealt specifically with issues that my son faced that could “get him over the hump”. I’ll never forget the Dr asking me if “he needed to wipe me up off the ground” with this news. There were no words.
All I could do was the best I could do. He got through Kindergarten b/c of my sweet friend at church took extra time with him at her private Kindergarten school. First grade was a nightmare. Little man bawled EVERY DAY about going to school….he could hardly read and got notes home constantly from the teacher. He had a hearing itenerant teacher who confided in me that his teacher “didn’t like him” and thought he was “spoiled”. She made it clear that if I repeated this information, she would lose her job. I stayed awake at night. I was angry and hurt….I wanted to go to school and give that teacher a piece of my mind! He was in the FIRST GRADE for goodness sake…it was a Christian School to boot! My boy sensed his teacher’s dislike and didn’t like her either….I dreaded seeing him so stressed every day.
Not having a clue what to do, and in utter despair, I began to pray face down on the floor every morning after bible study. I began writing a prayer to the teacher her every morning, putting it in an envelope and asking him to give it to her, which he did.
I had prayed with 2 ladies from church for 2 years every Wednesday for our children’s safety among other things. We only saw eachother on those days and didn’t call in between; although I enjoyed my time with Allie and Eva, we were an unlikely trio. Of course I shared some concerns about my son, not so much the despair. They prayed for him.
In February of 2008 Eva sought me out at church and gave me a newspaper ad for a Christian School where she knew the director. She said I should check it out for Christian. I thanked her kindly and put the ad in my purse which I sometimes refer to as the “black hole” never to see it or think about it again. Our church is very big so I never really saw Eva after that and we had not been meeting on Wednesdays anymore.
The drama continued. I was still praying flat on my face every day for my beloved son. The only ones who knew my desparation were God, and my husband.
In April Allie called me and said Eva wanted to get together for coffee. I was delighted and said I could meet the next day. Lo and behold she wanted to talk to me about the school, “Hope Christian School”. She told me all about the director and that they opened to serve children with challenges and or special needs. They were the only one of their kind in our our area and had 21 kids.
This was not like Eva and Allie….this was like the LORD though.
I went to the school immediately after our coffee and when I saw a sign on the wall in the office of one of the teachers that read “if a child doesn’t learn the way we teach him, maybe we should teach him the way he learns” I knew he would be there for the 09-10 school year. I had to convince my husband though because this place was unconventional and very different from regular school….we call it the “Homeschool School”. It just so happens that the teacher with the sign just happened to be the sister in law of one of his most trusted friends and a deacon in our church….WOW!
My son was scared to say the least and clung to me that first day. My heart was broken, I was used to it though. We had to give this a try.
Of course I expected the transition to take a couple of weeks at least. Much to my surprise a different boy walked down those stairs on the VERY FIRST DAY! He has never been the same; he is in the 3rd grade now and reads on a 5th grade level. He’s also knocking em dead in Math and Spelling. 🙂
My son loves school, his teacher and friends. He still has work to do but is truly a miracle. You would never know this boy struggled the way he has….he has nearly completely compensated for the mild CP he was diagnosed with 4 years ago…..in a small town!
The only wisdom this Mom had or has is to bring it all to Him……Incredible God!!
Thank you for sharing! I am so glad your son is doing well in this school!
I’ve enjoyed reading all the posts. This has been such a bad hard season in my life. I have struggled with prayer and believing God- I know He can do anything- my struggle is more with – will He? I’ve had many unanswered prayers and have struggled with the whys. This past year has been a nightmare. Suffice it to say, rebellious teenage child and false accusations against us. I read and read God’s Word and about Him being our Deliverer and our Defense- I get my hopes up again- and wham- another defeat. I’m having the hardest time understanding it all. My heart cries out for Truth and Vindication. I hear and see no answers in sight. Anyone have wisdom about what I’m missing here? How to hang on? I’ll share a recent poem I wrote- it shows exactly where I’ve been.
Captivity
Grief hangs over me like an ill-fitted cloak.
I’m languishing away without strength left to fight.
I sleep. I eat. I immerse myself in movies and books-
Someone else’s life to live, to see, to watch,
While my life lays cocooned between time
Waiting for I’m not sure what- but waiting nonetheless.
Lethargic, overly tired, without rhyme or reason.
Burdened with an overwhelming sense of sadness-
An ongoing feeling of aloneness, of something not quite right.
I want to live, to be, to feel- joy and sunshine on my face,
Protected, loved, real happiness transforming my features,
A smile that reaches and spreads across the dark distance,
Belly-shaking laughter bubbling through my spirit,
To feel whole again and as if all was right with the world-
Like a little girl swinging, trusting, legs up high,
Long hair swaying, touching Earth’s gentle dirt-
Contentment in its purest, simplest form-
Wrapped within a hug by the mighty arms of God.
You alone, God, know my way out of here.
You feel my pain, my anguish of heart.
Break me free from these oppressing burdens.
Take captive my thoughts and guide me to Yours.
Heather,
That is a beautiful poem. I am praying for you.
My husband had lost his job and I had not worked for years. I was homeschooling my three children at the time and couldn’t even begin to think about finding a job with three little ones at home. It was in the middle of the night and I just had to know what God wanted us to do. My husband couldn’t find a job and it had been weeks. I got up and prayed asking God to show me if we should put the house on the market. I grabbed my Bible, opened it and looked down on the page. It had fallen opened to Matthew chapter 2. What was highlighted on the page were these words from verse 13, “…remain there until I tell you…” God spoke His Word to me. Gave me His perfect peace and I am still here in the same house ten years later. God is faithful. His Word speaks because He is the Word and He is trustworthy.
I have my first Chemotherapy treatment Thursday, day after tomorrow, and it was my choice to do the treatments. Who chooses that, it almost seemed absurd to me, but as afraid of it as I was to say yes to it, I know with out a shadow of a doubt that God has in fact lead me straight to the decision to do these treatments. After much petition in prayer, and many people praying for me and over me, there came a place of great peace when I finally said okay, where there was none before. For me, for my situation, I know that He is saying “you can’t but I can” I won’t lie I am scared, but God gives me things along the way everyday that give me great hope and great confidence in the decision. No one could tell me what to do no one could help me make the decision I had to rely completely on the Lord! And He made clear, it was the peace that made it clear. My name is Mary and I have stage one Breast Cancer, but it is not who I am, I am a child of God, and OH how He loves me! Thank you for letting me share.
Pumpkin Dessert/ Susan
WOW! I made this for Thanksgiving and I loved it, my husband loved it as well as other family members. Thank You so much for the recipe.
We are having our Small Group Christmas Party and I am making dessert, it may very well be this. Thanks again!!Blessings, Sharon
I have been inquiring of the Lord for wisdom a lot lately, one instance recently that is standing out to me happened a few months ago. I lost my job recently and it has been difficult to make ends meet. My sister, who has been very supportive invited me to come and stay until I got on my feet. In all human reasoning, it seemed to be the best thing for me as we live several states away. I started praying and asking God to reveal to me His will and during this time He made clear through his Word by directing me to
Proverbs 27:10 Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
I couldn’t quite understand why or what God wanted from me, and he showed me also Matt 6, which tells of the lilly’s of the field God clothes them and how he feeds the sparrows. He doesn’t want us worrying about shelter and clothing or food…He just wants us to trust Him. I believe that I have always been pretty self sufficient and He just wants me to trust Him and not my job…I have learned so much from this season in my life, to praise Him through the storms and to have peace that He has it all under control…
One night after writing a bible study I feel God commanded me to write, I asked God.. “What about he soldiers God? They fight for our country and if they get killed do they go to heaven?” As I looked up at my ceiling in my little 700 sq ft house.. the layers of the atmosphere seemed to peal away in front of my face. I could not move or breath. I could only move my neck from side to side. Then I saw a gate with a lot of people behind it that were moaning and yelling to get in like I was backstage at a rock concert and they wanted to get in. Then I looked to what they were looking at and Jesus himself was standing there just looking at them but in front of me, he was standing beside a throne. Then he looked at me without moving his lips and said, “you are my child.” In that momment he answered a HUGE amount of questions for me, any doubt that I have ever had about God was immediatly erased and I have been on fire for God ever since. I believe he wanted to show me that, a lot of people aren’t going to make it but that shouldn’t worry me. Just to do what my job is here on this earth and I am his child. I will be with him and just to do my best. Which I do 🙂 or try my best. I pray that God will give me the direction for my life. I want to do something amazing for him and I am just waiting!! God Bless you all!
Oh boy. I’m thinking back to when I was engaged the summer after I graduated from college and 4 months before the wedding, my mom told me she and my dad didn’t feel at peace with me marrying the guy (who was a Christian). They had waited and waited to say anything, expecting that with time they would feel differently, but they didn’t. I don’t remember much of the conversation (I was in shock) but I do remember DISTINCTLY going back into my bedroom not knowing what in the world to do. I grabbed my Bible and told God “You say your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path so I really need you to show me something!” I ended up somehow in Isaiah 55, which ended up being a life preserver in the sadness-filled months to come. When I read “my ways are not your ways… as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than yours…” and the rest of it I knew God was telling me clearly to trust Him and His ways even if I didn’t understand at the time. Through the next couple of weeks, God made it clear that He did not want me to marry that guy. Especially when I was alone, I just knew. He gave me courage and helped the other guy hear things I wasn’t even quite brave enough to say. It was one of the hardest choices I have ever had to make, but I am so thankful for God’s love and closeness to me during that time and the months to follow.
Funny thing is that before getting engaged, I had prayed and prayed about marrying him. I was so afraid that I wouldn’t hear God. God’s only answer to me was “Don’t trust in your ability to listen. Trust in my ability to speak!” That was it. But it was enough and when He finally spoke, He made His answer loud and clear. And I knew.
And by the way… a couple of years later I ended up marrying a wonderful friend… we are going to celebrate our 15th anniversary next year, have 3 kids and are getting ready to go out onto the mission field for long term service next year. GOD IS GOOD!!!!! : )
Great story! I am in awe of your humility to submit to your parents and the Lord. He is so good. 🙂 Praying for your mission experiences. That no weapon formed against you will prosper.
I have been married 15 years and have three little ones. Total God thing 🙂
I have been a Christian for many years. However, it has been in the last few years that I have really begun to walk my faith and live by faith rather than just say the right words and do the right actions. The past few months have been ones of great trial for me in almost every area. Relational struggles, financial struggles, work struggles and, as of today, serious health issues. I am praying for God’s wisdom and direction through all of these areas. I’m still waiting for that direction but I’m daily living by faith that God is hearing my cries regardless of not having an answer yet. While the “large” requests are still waiting His direction, God has been faithful in small blessings which help boost my faith to be patient and wait on His timing in the big things.
Wow, a time I’ve received wisdom from God when I’ve asked for it, so many to name! I’m only 19 and God has helped me through sooo many different situations. One particular situation was when I had to give my testimony and a message to my highschool. I went to a small Christian school so it wasn’t a huge crowd, but 80 people made me nervous enough. While I was writing my message and giving it, the Lord’s wisdom definitely helped me! Reading my message now clearly shows me how much of that message wasn’t me, but the Holy Spirit using me! He continues to amaze me beyond words! Thanks Beth for inspiring me and encouraging me in my walk with Him! 🙂
Ohhh, too many times to count!! I’ve always craved spiritual mentors in my life, especially since my parents, as lovely as they are, weren’t Christians. I loved that God gave me lots of mom type mentors who showed me the way and set such a great examples!! I especially love my friend Joanie and how much she has been involved in my life!
It was becoming clear because of my health that it was time for me to quit work. I was several years away from retirement and I was scared to death to be without that extra paycheck. I prayed and prayed that God would give me the answer as to what I should do, but nothing. Then I heard again about, in Joshua when the water parted AFTER the priests put their feet into water. God was asking me to step out in faith, quit working, and He would provide. And He surely has.
It has been a blessed lesson to me in other situations, too. I am full of praise for my Lord and Saviour!
After my first baby was born I was really struggling with whether or not to return to work. I had landed a “golden job” that I’d worked years for, and I really enjoyed, and I knew my parents were so proud of me for it. I struggled with what they and others would say if I quit, how we would afford for me to stay home with my son, how I would ever get back “on track” in my job someday if I quit now, and so on. As much as I asked other people their opinions, I found no right answer for me. One day I picked up the book “Captivating” (by John and Staci Eldredge) that I had been reading. As I turned to the last page, they wrote this beautiful description of the scene from the movie “Anna and the King” (the King and I) where the king asks her to dance. They paralleled that scene with God extending his hand and asking you to dance with him–to trust him, to let him lead, to not care about what others thought…it was so beautiful and in the midst of so much confusion and anxiety, I knew that for one of the first times I can recall, God was speaking directly to me about trusting him. About taking a leap of faith and trusting that he was in control. So I stopped working, stayed home, and while it’s been rough financially he has sustained us in ways I could never have “planned,” and we have grown closer to him because of our hard times. I will never forget this moment in my life, when I felt God’s direct answer to prayer for wisdom. (And just want to add that just because I know God asked me to stay home with my son, I don’t think this is across the board God’s standard for mothers. I felt it was more about my trust–or lack of–in him, and that he was saying, “Here’s an opportunity for you to grow with me, daughter.”)
We have been struggling financially, mainly due to unwise choices with credit cards on my part. My husband has been wanting to get a new vehicle in which I felt that now was not the right time as we were trying to catch up on finances. One weekend he decided to go see some cars and test drive them. I kept wanting to tell him how I felt and urge him not to do this now. But I felt that God kept telling me “Let it go… let ME handle it”. I said nothing. I eagerly awaited a call from him that day, just knowing that he would say “I got a car”. Nothing… he came home told me of what he had seen and liked. I continued to pray for the Lord to give me the right words to softly encourage him to get the car. On Sunday night, he came to bed and said “I’ve been thinking… I think I’ll wait 3 years when the time is better and get a car then”. It took everything in me not to shout and jump for joy to praise God in how HE took care of it. My prayer was answered as gave me the wisdom and guidance to let HIM handle it.
Hey There from Demorest, Georgia!
Just this morning as I was having my “Jesus Time” – and once again talking to Him about my diet (or lack of)- He spoke to my heart and simply said “The power of life and death are in and on the tongue.” Be healthy in what you Speak and Eat!
Nuff Said 🙂
I’m a lurker here, this is the first time I’ve contributed. God made me share this earlier this week to some young women struggling to stay in their marriages, so I feel I must share it again.
3 years ago it was revealed that my husband of 18 years was having an affair. We had 5 children at home and I knew divorce was not my first option. He moved out, but wanted to come to the house every single day after work to eat dinner with the family and spend the evening with the kids. I lacked the wisdom to know if I needed to live 1 Cor. 13 or to use tough love tactics. After a very long time being, literally, face down before God, I believe this is the visual He gave me as an answer to petition for wisdom:
I took every penny I had left in life (love and emotional energy for my husband) and set it out on the desk of an investment broker who used to have a reputable record, but had recently been found to be less than ethical (my husband who had been in ministry for 12 years and had been a godly leader in our home). I asked him if he would take the money I had and would he do his best to take care of me and my children’s interests. His response was rather cold and non-committal: “I don’t really want to do this anymore. And even if I did commit to it I’m not believing at all that it would work.” At that moment, in my visual, God came behind me, made me look him in the face and said, “You’ve made a covenant promise to invest what you’ve got with this guy, your bound to the contract. But I AM your insurance on this investment. If he fails at this, I will make good on your return. And if he doesn’t give it everything he’s got and work with me, I WILL be the one to hold him accountable for that. It’s out of your hands. You do what you committed as a wife to do, I will restore and replace everything you give to this.”
My now former husband continued to come for dinner every night. I didn’t file for divorce, he finally did. And I can look my God, my children and myself in the face everyday knowing I did what God told me to do, even though it went totally against human wisdom, and I have a clear conscience. That may not be what God calls others in my circumstance to do, but my God knew me and my heart, and he knew I’d be eaten up with guilt for life if I had not LOVED BY FAITH!
Thank you so much for sharing…
In His love,
michelle
What an amazing and God inspired question! I was truly blessed over and over reading testimony after testimony of God’s goodness, wisdom, guidance and grace to so many people! Thank you for inspiring hope in me!
Love Crystal
I began my third year in seminary this year but 2 weeks before I was to start I was diagnosed with a mass in my stomach. I spent an agonizing week wondering if I had cancer and knowing I was supposed to go to school this fall. The doctor had said I could pretty much forget school. I was scheduled to teach in a prison and if I didn’t go this fall, that would never happen. Even with the uncertainty I knew the Lord was in it all and He would make a way, whatever way that was. I was surprised at my ability to trust Him – there was just so much grace. Somehow I knew that no matter what the outcome He was in control, I just had no idea how it would all work out. I was blessed that the mass was benign. After walking with the Lord for many years you would think I would just fall in step and always trust but I think He gives us grace for each situation, as we face it.
We are always faced with the goodness of God but sometimes it is just more evident than others. I am really grateful for His goodness this fall!
When I noticed in the Word that God gave the makers of the temple special wisdom to do their work, it dawned on me that He would do that for me as a nurse. So often I feel overwhelmed in my job, but when I ask God for the spirit of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that I may be an excellent nurse in the service of His calling, He always (not just sometimes – but ALWAYS) gives me wisdom to do whatever is before me. We serve an awesome and mighty God. And there is no other like Him.
I found this blog through So Long Insecurity. I have never commented, but today I could not resist.
I am a proud Army wife. My husband is deployed at the moment. His last deployment was an exhausting 16 month tour. When he came back he was different because while deployed sin occurred. To make a long story short: when he came home he wanted to bail out on our family. He wanted to burn all bridges of the past and start over. Any way the wisdom that I held onto during this time was from Ephesians 5:33 wives respect your husbands.
Instead of working toward forgiveness and reconciliation my husband just wanted to leave. I knew that I had to forgive. I also knew that the enemy wanted me to bad-mouth and degrade my husband. But the Bible only talks about respecting my husband. Waiting for him to decide to stay was definitely my valley of the shadow of death. I had to trust God and His wisdom. I had to think respectful thoughts about my husband and speak no more of past sins.
It took some time and some counseling, but we are still married and deeper in love with each other. We have even been given divine appointments to share our pain with others to help them with their pain. God is so good. He is so loving and faithful to hold our hands through the long dark times. The world system tries to tell us that “Hollywood” works, but the truth is that God’s kingdom is the only thing that works.
Hey Sister,
I am an Army wife just reconnecting after a 14 month deployment to Iraq. I wish you and I could see each other, I would hold you. God is so good even in the darkest toughest times.
Sending You Love,
Michelle, TN
Thank you. God is SO good. Blessings to you. —Susie
Hello my dears! I have not responded in a while due to LIFE! However, I just could not pass up this opportunity. Beth, you always remind me that it is important to be a “BARNABAS” and a “TIMOTHY”, so this is the reason I am responding today. Maybe someone can learn from the LORD “told” me. I know that so many people use this phrase without having really heard from the LORD which is why I am hesitant to use it. I KNOW for a fact that HE spoke to me concerning this situation. So here goes…
My husband and I were living in Germany and I was working as the main church secretary at the time. We had been going through several years of infertility treatments and we were trying to decide what to do. Should I quit my job or not so we could “have less stress” and so that my infertility treatments would not conflict with my job. I so desparately wanted a child that I had lost focus on the blessing I did have…MY Husband of just 3 years! So as we(my man and I) were praying about me quitting all I could think about was having a baby. It is at this time that I very clearly heard the LORD say to me…”You have to be the wife I have called you to be, before I will let you be the mother you want to be!” WOW! Did I really just hear from the LORD! As days passed, the LORD continue to impress these words upon my heart and the confirm them through my daily devos and some godly women who were mentoring me. So needless to say, I quit my job and decided to be an AMAZING wife! However, on my very last day on the job, my husband calls me to tell me he is being deployed for 6 months, from July 98-Feb 99. WHAT?!? God did you NOT tell me to go home and be a wife? What are you doing????? What about all of the fertility treatments I have been and would be receiving???I remember at the time, I was so mad at the LORD! However, it is during the time when my husband was deployed that I did the Bible Study “Breaking Free.” I would not have been able to do this if I had still been working. It was also during this time that the LORD showed me, that until I dealt with stuff from my past and let HIM have it and I forgave, I could not be the “wife HE had called me to be.” I am so thankful for this hard time. Yes, I know GOD called me home and called me to be a wife, but at the time I sure did not want to hear it or did not like the way He allowed me to have to come to terms with things from my past. We have now been married for 16 years and I have three amazing children ages 10,9,and 8! I would not trade that time with LORD for anything because I know that if HE had not allowed my husband to be deployed, I would not have been able to deal with the stuff that I had to. I would have found many excuses to not do my Bible Study because it was hard. I praise the LORD for answering my desires but I praise HIM even more for helping me to become the wife He wanted me to be!
Wow-this is timely! This past August I found out I was being replaced in my job! I had just been told what a great job I was doing the week before! I would stay in that position till the middle of October, then wait for a new job at the company office. I should start at my new work situation in a week or so. However, at the time, I was extremely angry at this situation – not at God, but that it happened! I did not understand it, nothing made sense, I can’t say that I even asked God in particular for anything but to help me forgive the person who made this decision. I was so angry and bitter. I kept praying and reading my devotion and Bible verses when one morning the Bible verses kind of seemed personal to me, then the devotion touched on the same issue, then the next Bible verses seemed to really bring home the issue. I realized that I was angry and looking for answers, but God had only one word for me. I decided to see what Oswald had to say and as soon as I came to the page for the day – there it was as the heading – Obedience. I heard God say “Obedience, Woman”. I realized that while I wanted to stay where I was He needs me to go elsewhere. If I say I love him and want to do His will then I need to be ready to go when he says go! At the same time, He led me to start reading Jeremiah! Of all things! Just so happened I went to the Living Proof website that day and there was a free copy of Beth’s talk on Jeremiah to download! God and I have an arrangement whereas I told him long ago I am a visual learner and also sometimes need to be hit in the head a few times – subtlety does not work for me! Praise Him.
Rejoice!
Amie
In January 2009. I thought God revealed to me that you were coming to Spokane. I thought I was crazy. I called your office and left a message to see if it was true. I did not receive a response which I can understand. Your assistant probably thought I was crazy too. I kept telling my friends Beth Moore is coming to town. June 22, 2009 is when I got confirmation that your were indeed coming to Spokane – Fastford to the week of the event. I believe the Lord had Spokane(spoken). The night before the prayer team was going to the arena to pray. I felt in my Spirit “do you not know that I need to be about my fathers business” – The word consecration came to mind. This is the prayer I felt was for the event. I was praying for my own consecration. How is it uniquely fit to me and for the women? That we would get a personal confirmation about stepping into our Fathers business. I have been at odds with someone whose approval I so want. I am afraid I broke her trust and though we are sisters we do not have a relationship like saints that refresh one another in the Lord. I have been praying Ephesians 2 -that the Lord would bring down the barrier. He Himself is our peace. We are born of one Spirit. The Lord also gave me Phil 4 about he two fellow workers who needed to be encouraged to get along and 1 Cor 3 that says who is Paul and who is Apollos, I give the increase.
All this to say you truly were His mouthpiece that weekend the Lord had Spokane.
I am desparate for wisdom. I have no doubt that the Lord has called me. Sometimes I feel crazy. I see things that others don’t see. I am misunderstood and don’t know how to operate in my gift. I am often rejected and wrestle with risking the loss of my first love due to hardness of heart. I sometimes feel like I am the only one. I know that is not true but that is how I feel. The Lord has used you to get me in the word. I remember the first Simulcast I wasn’t going to hear you, I was going to meet a friend who I thought needed me. The Lord had other plans. He drew me into His word and started highlighting it. That was in 2004. While now I long for nothing more but to hear Him speak, sometimes His word is hard. Recently I was in a leadership class at school. We were studying some well known books and with some good information in them. But I felt strongly that the Lord said that I had fallen from my first love and that blessed is the man who does not stand in the counsel of the ungodly but He who meditates on my word day and night will be like a tree planted by living water …bring fruit in season…and whatever he is does will prosper. I felt His rebuke and chose not to follow the crowd. He is the leader, the more I focuss on His word and let it abide the more He brings to pass that which I could not do in the flesh. I guess thats why its called spiritual leadership. I was turning to man to teach me leadership and God said “no”, that is not the way. Return to Me. He says ask for wisdom and He will give it with out fault. He says in Luke 21:15 do not dertermine what to say beforehand because he will give us wisdom that can’t be resisted just like with Steven in Acts. I want to grow in this wisdom. The more I have truth in the inward places the more He makes known to me the things that could not otherwise be known. I always ask Him too,if He knows me? A few places in the word it talks about God knowing us. Those who love God are known by God. Not only do i know Him but does he know me? Have I let Him shine the light of His word in to the places that need to be exposed to his healing touch? Well, I am rambling and I am not sure if my post is appropriate but it is transparent. I need wisdom desparately!!! I take my thoughts captive to the just shall live by faith and a verse out of Is 66:9 Shall I bring to the time of birth and not cause the delivery? says the Lord. Shall I who cause the delivery shut up the womb? Says your God. Basically – He who started a good work will be faithful to complete it. I tell Him I just dont’ want to miss it. Please don’t let me miss it. Thanks for listening. Barb in Spokane
Hello friends!
I know that this does not really relate to the post that Beth asked us about but I need PRAYER! As I posted in my last post, my husband and I have been married for 16 years and he has just told me that he is not sure that he believes in the LORD anymore! Needless to say, this has come as a SHOCK! He has always been a strong believer and GOD has even used him to help strengthen my faith. He told me that he started questioning everything his parents told him(he is a PK) to things in the Bible that he just can’t rectify! For example…if God loves all men the same then why did HE give instructions for slaves. He ask if this means that GOD approves of slavery? Also, if God created the Heavens and the EArth and Satan was kicked out of heaven and hurled to the earth was this before the earth was made and if so then where did God hurl him? So, because my husband can’t understand the “conflicts” of the Bible he has said that he does not believe the Bible is without error. And if God’s word has errors then is it really from God? If what we have telling us about God is wrong then God himself is probably not real. All three of our children have accepted Christ and have made their public profession through baptism. My husband as agreed to keep attending church with us, so the kids don’t ask questions, but he will not pray with us or even participate in discussions. He has agreed to go to a Christian councelor with me. But I must say I am deeply concerned about this and have not wanted to share with others because I did not want my husband to appear in a bad light. However, I am in desparate need of prayer and encouragement as I do not know how to handle this. I have told him I believe that deep down in his heart he is a believer but right now I think my husband has sin covering his heart and so he has shut out God’s voice. Thank you in advance.
I am believing my husband will come “back” to the faith but he has asked me if I think we can still have a marriage if he doesn’t come back. I just can’t accept that my husband will not come back to the LORD, because I know the LORD pursues us relentlessly, but could he shut out God’s voice for long that it is impossible for him to come back as it says in Hebrews 12?
Earnestly Hoping,
Jeanne
A couple of years ago, I was in the middle of facilitating your “Daniel” study and at home, we were having a screen porch built. The man who was building it came highly recommended and we were very pleased with his work. We paid him a third as a deposit, a third about halfway through it, and was prepared to pay a third at the end. When that last payment came, he said he had some cost overruns that needed to be addressed. We were expecting 10% or less since we know from previous builds, things happen. But, something about his comment made me think it was going to be quite a bit more which didn’t make sense to me since this was the fourth screen porch he had built in the previous months and nothing major happened during our build. I prayed a lot about it, petitioning God that He revealed Neb’s dream to Daniel and I was asking He reveal to me why our builder may be asking for a lot more money (specifically, I used Dan. 2:21b-22 over and over). I felt in my spirit that He told me to call a friend who is a very strong Christian but I had no idea why. After calling her, I told her what was going on (not revealing his name), but she flat-out asked me if it was such-and-such person and it was! Of all the builders in our area – was so weird I’m getting chill bumps right now. She knew him personally very well and because it was obvious the Lord wanted me to know enough to be cautious, she revealed some major financial problems he was having. It was obvious he was trying to recoup some of his losses through my husband and I. The job was done, we paid the last third and refused additional payment, and we never saw him again. Go God!
Oh my. I’m about to post my first comment, although I’ve been following along since a fellow Siesta sat at my table during Breaking Free a few months ago. Darn the luck..and now, without a doubt, everytime we run into each other, we have to swap stories about “the blog.” Did YOU see the post about ____. Uh yeah. Seriously, i neeeed to start being more productive on Tuesdays!! Haha… Am I the only one delving through archives when I could be doing laundry or homework?!
anyhoo-
In 2007, deep into my first semester of college, I got a text message from my sister that my grandfather had had a heart attack and was in emergency surgery. Now, you have to know a little about my Pop… he is 76 years old and still plays 9 (if not 18) holes at the country club every day, 6’8″ tall, and everybody in the small west Texas town I grew up in knows who he is, which may or may not be to my advantage, depending on whether or not he was still the principal at the High School when they attended. Needless to say, I was distraught..I remember feeling so helpless. I truly didn’t know what to do. I was a new Christian, and hadn’t really ever experienced a moment where I had to literally sit back and say, okay God, this is all You. I remember praying with a friend and not even knowing how I found the words. It was such a teaching/learning moment for us. I finally understood what sovereignty meant. I was on my way to the hospital and “You are God Alone” came on the radio. Total reconfirmation. The line “in the good times and bad” sticks in my brain. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I knew that it was in God’s hands and that it WAS going to be okay either way. It’s funny how quickly tears of sadness can turn into tears of joy! I will never forget the drive to the hospital, singing that song through happy tears. I had to have been a sight, walking into the waiting room full of sullen and solemn faces, and smiling, but i couldn’t help it. Though this isn’t a story of a big life decision to make regarding a marriage, or moving a family, or finances, I was given divine wisdom and didn’t even ask for it, nor was I expecting it. And I guess I should end by saying that he made it through surgery, and after a long recovery, has since returned to the golf course…I so loved getting to see him over Thanksgiving 🙂
I am currently seeking the Lord’s wisdom as I care for my mother.
I taught Kindergarten for 22 years and absolutely loved it. I started to feel unhappy with the changes and pressures put on young children and wondered about retirement. God made His answer so clear – He showed me it is time to value my health and family. He covered every detail – I dreaded packing up the much loved accumulation, but the building was to be painted so I would have to pack either way. My daughter in law got pregnant with twins and wanted my help – then they moved within 2 miles of us! There were still financial concerns because I didn’t qualify for a full retirement – and He took care of that too! I am so blessed!
I have a severely disabled 36 year old son living in a group home. A few years ago we knew it was not a good situation but we were unable to find another home and concerned we couldn’t meet his physical needs at home (diapering, feeding, lifting). God closed that group home and found another for him within 3 miles of our house. I am humbled and awed that He cares for me.
The lowest time in my life was when my college boyfriend left me on the side of the road after a terrible disagreement. I was so wrapped up in him at the time I couldn’t see that he was a jealous, abusive and dangerous man. I cried my heart out and begged God to get me out of the situation I was in and show me I was worthy. It took a couple months after finally breaking free…but I soon met the man who is now my husband and partner of 21 years. When you cry out to God, he does hear you. I remember promising to never doubt him again and he has blessed me with health and wealth beyond anything I could have ever imagined.
I ask God for wisdom on a daily basis, (Lord knows I need it, or I would not survive). A time that stands out though, is about 22 years ago, when my husband and I were newly weds, and he was going through pilot training. As you can imagine, the course was very competitive, since what aircraft he was assigned to fly depended greatly upon how he did in training. Because of this, I found myself, for a time, starting to wish his fellow classmates would not do quite as well, to give my husband an “edge”. This really ate at my soul, so I went and spoke with one of the Air Force chaplains. He told me that I needed to leave my husband’s future in God’s hands, (duh), and to pray for God’s will in his life. Well that was a LOT harder than it sounded, but I did just that. I turned the focus from worry to trust. And you know what? God did better than I could’ve ever imagined, my husband was the class Distinguished Graduate, and got the aircraft of his “choice”. The rest shall we say, is “history”.
BTW, today is my wonderful husband’s birthday too!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENJ!
In HIS Love,
Donna B.