December 2019 Archives

When You Need to Know Your Next Step of Faith

December 23, 2019 By Carol Whitaker Leave a Comment

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” — Matthew 2:9-10

Last week, I posted an article on the wise men and announced via Facebook that I would not be publishing any more this week on my blog as I was exhausted from all of the demands of trying to make Christmas happen.

And then when a family member got sick, and I found out on the morning of Christmas Eve that I would need to step in and host Christmas day at my house, I figured that writing was out of the question — for several more days.

I would be lying in a coma somewhere in my house with my children running around unsupervised, and I would need at least a week to get functional enough to write.

I certainly would not be penning any holiday-themed posts again until next year. Or so I thought. As I expressed to God in my quiet time, I was just. so. tired.

Falling into bed after midnight for the third night in a row feeling too worn out to string a coherent sentence together let alone a blog post, I woke up a few hours later refreshed with a list of thoughts in my head. A list of thoughts in my head about the wise men.

Turns out, I wasn’t quite done writing about them.

I felt God gave me a few more observations about the magi’s story that are pertinent for any time of the year that I would like to share before we move past the holiday season.

1. He speaks our language.

As Matthew Henry notes, God spoke to the wise men in a language that they could understand. They were most likely astrologers and sorcerers, well-versed in studying the heavens and reading signs. God lead them to his Son by announcing His birth with a star. He revealed Himself to them in a way that they could understand.

God does that with us, too. He promises to be found by those who seek Him, and He speaks your language. He knows what exact questions and doubts you have, gifts, struggles, conflicts. He fashioned your very brain. He knows what will draw you to Him.

My pastor once gave an example of when he plays hide-and-seek with his children. He knows how to hide in difficult places, but because his kids are small and give up easily if he doesn’t give them hints as to his hiding places, he lets them find him.

With God, it is the same way. He doesn’t remain hidden if we look for Him. I am a words person. I never really thought about it before, but that is how God primarily communicates to me. Through words.

I sometimes get around people and have a specific word flash into my mind. I get ideas for posts throughout the day or at night, and it will just be a download of thoughts. Oftentimes, a stream of words will come to me after watching a movie or reading a book. And I know it’s from Him.

Others have different ways of experiencing God. Some get pictures in their mind, dream vivid dreams, or feel Him best when they are running or out in nature.

There are a thousand ways God pours out Himself so we can find Him. It is because of His great love for us that He does it in a way that will communicate to us personally.

2. He chooses unlikely candidates.

As I mentioned in a previous post about a widow and the prophet Elijah, God chooses unlikely candidates. The wise men were astrologers from a far away Arabian land. There were several more pious men closer to the birth place of Jesus that God could have chosen, but God instead selected these particular magi.

In fact, the rather embarrassing reality is that these magicians were searching for Jesus when the Jews weren’t even looking for Him. The Jews knew of the prophecies and the predictions, and yet it was these magi that God used to follow His star to His Son.

God chose not only the wise men, but some unlikely subjects in the shepherds (Luke 2:15) and Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25-38) to come and celebrate his son’s birth. The fact that He selected persons from all ranks and walks of life makes one message abundantly clear: The Gospel is for everyone. The Gospel isn’t just for church people. It wasn’t just for Jews, His chosen people. It was for common shepherds, sorcerers — everyone.

Although Christ is exclusive in the sense that He offers a narrow path of salvation — Himself — He extends this offer to all.

Again, we see through his placing of the star for the wise men to find, a Creator who greatly loves His creation. Not only does He let us find Him when we are looking, He initiates the search by coming to pursue each one of us.

3. The star isn’t just for the Christmas story.

I used to think that the star was just a unique feature of the Christmas story — something God deposited in His narrative to make the backdrop of his Son’s birth more beautiful. However, the star didn’t just guide those men on their journey. As Henry notes, the “day-star arises in the hearts” of all who seek Him.

I used to worry and sometimes do still worry that I will miss God’s will for me, but the truth is that if I am abiding in Him and walking with Him, I will know the way to go. Just like the star guided the wise men to Jesus’ home, by making Jesus at home in my heart and seeking out His guidance on a daily basis, He illuminates the way for me.

By making Jesus at home in my heart and seeking out His guidance on a daily basis, He illuminates the way for me.

Click To Tweet

He shows me the path I should take by surrounding me with resources that answer my questions; by speaking directly to me during my quiet time through Scripture; by speaking through pastors and other mature Christian friends through sermons and conversations; by filling my mind with dreams that warn me of future events. These are all ways God leads me like a kind shepherd. As Isaiah 30:21 says: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ ”

Since launching a blog, I have experienced a whole lot of pressure. I have readers looking to me for new content every week and these questions fill my mind at times: What am I going to write about? How will I know what to say?

Without fail, when I spend time with Him, my mind floods with inspiration related to the Bible passage or devotional I just read or the lesson He is currently teaching me. My biggest problem is not having something to say but being diligent about writing down the thoughts when they come.

When I get lazy and don’t record them, I have to ask God for them again because I can’t remember what He told me.

Interestingly enough, the wise men’s star stopped once the wise men reached Herod, and they didn’t get discouraged but instead took it upon themselves to inquire about the child. And once they did, the star rose again for them.

As Henry notes, if we are doing what we have in our power to do, God graciously shows us the next step and makes his star reappear when we need it.

The wise men observed the star with great joy when it showed up again, and so it is with us on our journey with God when we are seeking answers, and He reveals what we have been seeking so we can take the next leg of the journey.

Just like He was faithful about guiding the wise men to Christ, He is faithful about guiding me.

A few days ago, I was flat-lined from holiday preparations. It wasn’t until God wakened me from my sleep to re-energize me and whisper His thoughts that a blog post began to take shape.

Just like the wise men were happy when the star that had disappeared showed back up in the sky, I got pretty excited when God gave me fresh illumination and direction for a piece I was too weary to write.

When I look for Him, He will show me the way.

As Jeremiah 29:13 says, “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all of your heart.”

Related Bible Verses:

James 1:5: “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you.”

Proverbs 8:17: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”

Deuteronomy 4:29: “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

*Adapted from post originally published December 28, 2014.

Related Resources:

Check out the following posts in the series: Part 1: “Why God’s Way is Always Best,” Part 2: “Pushing Past Our Breaking Points to Do the Will of God,” Part 3: “The Blessings of Following God,” and Part 4: “Trusting God When It Doesn’t Make Sense.”

Carol Whitaker

Carol Whitaker is a coach's wife, mom, writer, and singer. She left a career in teaching in 2011 to pursue a different path at God's prompting. While she thought that the path would lead straight to music ministry, God had different plans -- and Carol found herself in a crisis of spirituality and identity. Out of that place, Carol began writing about the lessons God was teaching her in her desert place and how God was teaching her what it meant to be healed from a painful past and find her identity in Him rather than a title, a relationship, a career, or a ministry. These days, Carol spends her time shuttling her little ones back and forth from school, supporting her coach-husband on the sidelines, and writing posts. Carol also continues to love music and hopes to pick up piano playing again. Carol is a self-proclaimed blog junkie and iced-coffee lover. She resides in Georgia with her husband and three children.

Trusting God When It Doesn’t Make Sense

December 22, 2019 By Carol Whitaker Leave a Comment

My 3-year-old leaps into my arms and holds tight when afraid. Though she has moments of independence, she knows where to flee when feeling insecure. I smile when I think of the ferocity with which she clings to me. I struggle to peel her off of me when she latches on — even though she is a mere 32 pounds! As her parent, I am a safe place for her when she is around strangers or a storm lashes outside her window.

We, too, as a believers, have a refuge we can run to in our distress. The very word “trust” in Scriptures such as Proverbs 3:5, 6 translates as “batach” in Hebrew, meaning to “have confidence, rely upon.” As commentator Warren Wiersbe notes, the word means “to lie helpless, facedown like a servant awaiting his master’s command.” To trust in the Lord is to depend on Him to guide our way, knowing that His way is best.

It’s easy to have confidence in God and cling to Him when He provides the answer to our problem that we want, but when His answer to us doesn’t make sense or He doesn’t immediately change our situation the way that we want, we can find ourselves losing confidence in His trustworthiness and erect a fortress to cling to of our own making.

What Trust in a Difficult Situation Looks Like

In Ruth 3, Ruth shows us what it means to trust God in difficult circumstances. As a widow, Ruth is in a dire situation. Widows during this time had no social status and lived in poverty. The law at the time provided that a brother of the deceased husband could marry the widow and carry on the family line. However, if there was no brother, the nearest relative could do this and become a guardian-redeemer. Because Naomi’s sons and husband are both dead and she has no other sons, Ruth cannot marry a brother but has to marry another relative or marry outside the family.

Assessing that her relative Boaz is a guardian-redeemer of the family and may have an interest in Ruth, Naomi advises Ruth to go down to the threshing floor where Boaz is threshing barley and do the following:

‘Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.’

‘I will do whatever you say,’ Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. (Ruth 3:3-6)

What can we learn from Ruth’s actions about trusting God?

1. Trusting God means doing what He tells us (even when we don’t understand).

Naomi tells Ruth to wash, put on perfume, get dressed in her best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor where Boaz is threshing barley from the harvest. When he falls asleep, Ruth is to lie down at his feet, uncover his feet, wait for him to wake up, and do what he says. Ruth’s response is one we of faith: “I will do whatever you say.” It is the same response Mary had when she was told by the angel that she would become pregnant with the Messiah: “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38, CSB).

However, Naomi’s instructions to Ruth are unusual. Couldn’t Naomi just approach Boaz in public during the day? Why did Ruth have to go at night and arrest his attention in this particular way? As scholars point out, Ruth does not do anything inappropriate by lying at his feet. It was common during this time for servants to lie at the feet of their master and take part of the master’s garment over them. In addition, other customs in the East were that a man would put his skirt over a woman if he desired her in marriage or at the actual marriage ceremony a groom would put his skirt over the bride as a symbol that he was taking her under his protection. By uncovering his feet and asking him to spread his garment over her, Ruth essentially asks him to be his wife.

With all that being said, Ruth’s actions are bold. Boaz responds favorably by promising to do what he can the following day and gives her six measures of barley so that she does not go away “empty-handed” (Ruth 3:17). In addition, he praises her for her act as he is older than Ruth and notes that she could have gone after the younger men in town, but instead does what was best for her family in choosing him. However, though Ruth is successful, Boaz still acts concerned about what others will think when they see a woman on the threshing floor and advises Ruth to go home early before it is light (Ruth 3:13, 14). His reaction tells us what a daring move Ruth makes.

In looking at this passage, we can assess that because Naomi’s instructions are so out of the ordinary, Ruth could have decided upon a different path that made more sense to her. Instead, she submits to these instructions, believing that they are God’s will for her. What we can learn from her actions is that God’s ways are not our ways. Though God will never instruct us in a way that violates His Word, He will often lead us to complete steps that do not make any sense to us. When we simply obey what God says, as Ruth obeys Naomi here, we are given His help and provision. Like Boaz promises to act in response to her lying at his feet, God works on our behalf when we step out in faith and do what He asks us to do.

2. Trusting God means doing what we have been given to do and leaving the rest to Him.

After Ruth completes Naomi’s instructions, she goes home. Rather than worry about the outcome or try to control it in any way, we learn later in the passage that Naomi gives her further advice (which she heeds): “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today” (Ruth 3:18). However, the suspense for her must have been high! Though Boaz is willing to be her guardian-redeemer, he tells her that he is not the nearest relative. Therefore, if events don’t go well at the town-gate, she could be another man’s wife by the end of the day. Yet, instead of stewing, Ruth rests in the care of Boaz and believes his promise that he will take care of the matter. In a similar way, we can trust that Jesus, as our guardian-redeemer, will do as He has promised. When we bring a problem to Him, we don’t have to worry about the situation any longer. If He has directed us in a particular path, we can walk with Him knowing that He is working on our behalf.

Often, though, our worry and the desire to control what is happening come when we don’t know the outcome. God has told us He will take care of it, but we can’t see how. And — we may have circumstances — like Ruth does here with the other relative — which present the possibility of events going in a very undesirable way. And yet, in this place of uncertainty, Ruth continues to trust that God will work things out and rests in His provision and protection. Similarly, when we can’t see what God is doing and don’t know how He will work it out, we have to trust when we have done what we can that He will do the rest.

As 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares for you.” “Cast” means to “throw upon, place upon.” God wants us to literally throw our requests and concerns on Him! Yet, if you’re anything like me, once you cast your problems on God, you reel them back in and try to take control of them once again. But “cast” implies throwing them far away from us and leaving them there.

Conclusion:

If we’re in a make-it-or-break-it situation, we can be tempted to turn to another refuge other than Jesus or rely on ourselves to fix our situation. It can be hard to step out in faith and do what God asks (particularly, when we don’t understand why God is having us do what we’re doing), and then simply wait for Him to work on our behalf. We see here, though, that when Ruth does what she is told and leaves the rest in the hands of Jesus, her very capable guardian-redeemer does for her what she cannot do for herself.

Similarly, when we do what God asks of us and leave the rest to Him, He supernaturally does what we cannot. We have to trust Him and leave it with Him, though. If we try to keep taking up His work, we may meddle with the process and impede the work He wants to do. C. Ness in The Biblical Illustrator Commentary says on this point: “We must let God alone with His own work, which is then only well done, when it is done by Himself.” Waiting is sometimes more difficult than the challenging acts of faith God gives us to do.

However, when we bring our struggles to Him and rest at His feet, we cover ourselves with His garment and find the strength to endure what we need to until He brings the relief we need. While He doesn’t always change our circumstance, He will always strengthen and encourage us in the midst of our struggle. Ruth, even before Boaz works on her behalf, does not go home with empty arms. Rather, Boaz fills her shawl before sending her on her way. In a similar way, even if Jesus doesn’t immediately answer us or change our situation, we are never left empty-handed when we come in His presence. He comforts us and rejuvenates us, so that we, too, can go back to our situations full and at peace — knowing our capable Savior is working even when we can’t see or comprehend what He is doing.

Related Resources:

Check out the following posts in the series: Part 1: “Why God’s Way is Always Best,” Part 2: “Pushing Past Our Breaking Points to Do the Will of God,” and Part 3: “The Blessings of Following God.”

Carol Whitaker

The Blessings of Following God

December 14, 2019 By Carol Whitaker Leave a Comment

My daughter came home in an excited fluster the other day, relaying to me that her teacher introduced a new VIP section in her classroom where students doing their work and displaying good behavior will be selected to sit in the VIP section for a week. This special promotion comes with rewards such as honor in front of the other students, snacks during class, and homework passes.

Just like my daughter, we all like perks and benefits. When faced with challenges and trials in our lives, we may forget that we receive benefits when walking with Christ. Though following Him is costly, He rewards those who trust in Him. Matthew 10:39 tells us: “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it” (NLT).

In other words, even though we come to points in our journey with Christ where we have to make the choice to leave behind what is comfortable and familiar to us and continually move forward into new territory, we find fulfillment and joy in doing so — even though it may feel that we are continually letting go and dying to what we want. I love what Jim Elliot says on this point: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

The Blessings of Trusting in God

In Ruth 2, we see the idea of being rewarded for the sacrifices we make in walking with Christ. Ruth reaches Bethlehem with Naomi and goes to work gleaning grain in Boaz’s field. Up to this point, the journey has been long and hard — and the difficulty hasn’t let up. As a widow, Ruth has limited status and options for work as a woman and a widow. She must go to glean behind workers in a hot field. As she is doing this, Boaz, the kind land owner, inquires about her. When He learns that she has followed Naomi to Bethlehem to care for her and follow God, He praises her: “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (Ruth 2:12).

Boaz rightly identifies the recompense that comes from walking with God. What can we learn from his words about the rewards of taking refuge under the wings of God?

1. Inner peace.

One of the rewards of following Christ, wherever He may lead, is inner peace. Peace can be defined as tranquility, an absence of disturbing or oppressive thoughts or emotions. Even when His assignments are hard and we don’t understand where He is leading us, we have peace when we follow where He leads. Even though Ruth had to make a difficult choice in following Naomi into poverty and obscurity as a widow, she had peace in her heart knowing that she was following God. Though she might have encountered more in terms of physical sustenance and worldly comfort initially in going back to Moab, she would have suffered from a troubled conscience.

Similarly, when we follow Christ, we experience peace. We may be walking through great difficulty, and yet, have great calm in our spirits. Matthew 11:28, 29 says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” The word “weary” refers to those weighted down or burdened in the passage, and the word “rest” means rest from labor and refreshment.

The passage invites those who are weary to come to Jesus and receive rest from Him. Yet, there is a second part of this passage that speaks of putting on the yoke of Jesus and learning from Him to receive rest. We receive peace and a reprieve from turbulent emotions not only by coming to God with our problems and burdens in prayer and reading His Word, but also by surrendering to His will. As Alexander MacLaren asserts, “The very act of coming to Christ brings repose, but that is not all … the path of rest is treading in Christ’s footsteps. ‘Learn of Me,’ it is the secret of tranquility.”

2. His counsel.

Earlier, before Boaz makes the comment he does about Ruth coming under God’s care, he gives the following instructions in Ruth 2:8, 9:

My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you.

Similarly, God instructs those who follow Him and gives us counsel as to the best way to go. Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Not only do we have inner rest when we turn to Him and surrender to Him, we are also guided in the right way. We don’t have to figure out every situation or worry about what dangers lurk in the future. In listening to Him, we avoid pitfalls and situations that would cause us harm.

We will still face trouble and persecution, but whatever trouble we face is that which God has allowed to work out the best in us. As John Trapp says, “For it may befall a saint to share in a common calamity; as the good corn and weeds are cut down together, but for a different end and purpose.” Believers will encounter hardships, just like unbelievers, and following God’s way will even lead into certain hardships and trials; however, these hardships and trials will be those that God will work for good in our lives.

Ruth is given boundaries by Boaz, but she doesn’t resist against them. She understands that Boaz says what He does to protect her and help her. As believers, when we understand that God tells us what He does because He has His “loving eye” on us and desires to ensure our protection, we can submit to what He tells us — knowing that He is not restricting us unnecessarily or holding out on us. Rather, He acts as any loving father would in looking out for His children.

3. His care.

In addition to offering us peace that the world cannot provide and His counsel, He cares tenderly for His own. He knows that the journey is hard, and He not only walks with us, but He ministers to us and gives us what we need in the process.

After conversing with Ruth, at mealtime, Boaz further extends his kindness by inviting Ruth to join him, saying: ” ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.’ When she sat down, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.” (Ruth 2:14). Boaz doesn’t merely offer her a few crumbs, he gives her “all she wants” and more — and offers her a place at his table with his other servants.

Boaz’s actions are representative of Christ’s toward believers. Jesus spreads a table for us as we walk with Him and provides for our physical and spiritual needs. He not only gives us peace (as I mentioned in my first point), He comforts us in our brokenness, gives us strength when we are too weary to go on, sends needed supplies our way when our finances run out, and gives us the ability to carry out the tasks He assigns us (just to name a few). As Philippians 4:19 says: “My God will supply all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:19 isn’t a prosperity message where God is a genie and gives us whatever we want. However, when we work to serve Him and refresh others, He, in turn, refreshes us. In addition, when we ask for what we need in accordance to His will, He will respond and give to us out of His abundance (Proverbs 11:25; Matthew 7:7).

Making Christ Our Refuge

When we make Christ our refuge, we usher in blessings and benefits into our lives that we would otherwise not know. Psalm 91:1 says this: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Making Christ our refuge means turning to Him and putting Him above all else in our lives, but it does not imply perfection on our parts. We will sometimes drift and fail, and He will have to come after us. Nor does it mean that we have to attain some level of goodness to abide in His shadow. It simply means that we walk closely with Him and make Him the place of stability we rely on — so much so — that we have no other place we turn to when we are in need.

However, although this secret place in Christ is available for all believers, we can miss out on these blessings if we do not seek to know Christ or make Him a refuge. Pastor David Guzik says:

There are many followers of Jesus Christ who seem to know very little of the secret place of the Most High or what it is to abide under His shadow. Many seem to regard this as only a thing for mystics or the super-spiritual … It is true that the life of the spirit seems to come more easily for some than for others, but there is an aspect of the secret place of the Most High that is for everyone who puts his trust in Him.

Ruth was a foreigner, at the mercy of a stranger’s charity. She was undeserving of the favors bestowed on her, just as we are undeserving of God’s favors. However, she was given an invitation to glean from the fields and eat with the other servants because she chose to follow God. Note what Charles Spurgeon says on this point: “The poor, trembling stranger who has not strength enough to reap, who has no right to be in the field except the right of charity — the poor, trembling sinner, conscious of his own demerit, and feeling but little hope and joy, is invited to the feast of love.”

Just as Ruth was offered blessings in response to her surrendering her life to God, we, too, will find blessings when we trust God and follow where He leads.

We encounter blessings when we trust God and follow where He leads.

Click To Tweet

Related Resources:

Check out the following posts in the series: Part 1: “Why God’s Way is Always Best” and Part 2: “Pushing Past Our Breaking Points to Do the Will of God.”

Carol Whitaker

5 Strategies for Dealing With Depression, Part 2

December 6, 2019 By Carol Whitaker Leave a Comment

Depression steals into our lives wrapping us in a blanket of gray. What can we do in those times? In Part 1 of the podcast segment, we discuss how thanksgiving and prayer can help lift us out of depression. In Part 2, we wrap up with three more strategies including knowing it’s a season, keeping up with activities, and focusing on others.

If you are struggling with depression and are having thoughts of suicide, you can reach out and get help. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The hotline is open 24/7, and the call is free.

Related Resources:

Ever been in a bad situation and it just gets worse? Join us for our brand new series “Hope When You’re at the end of Your Rope: Lessons From Ruth on Trust, Surrender, and Healing.” In the study, we will look at the story of Ruth where will draw lessons the next few weeks on the hope we have when life gets hard, and we feel abandoned and in need of rescue. With this new series, we will begin a new podcast/post schedule where we post podcasts during the week instead of the weekend. We will continue on with this series after next week when we wrap up talking about depression.

If you haven’t read the articles yet or listened to the podcast segments in the Ruth series, check out Part 1: “Why God’s Way Is Always Best” and Part 2: “Pushing Past Our Breaking Points to Do the Will of God.”

If you are not yet a follower of the blog and want to receive our latest posts, follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Or leave a comment with your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!