How to Trust God When You Can’t See the Way Forward - Martin Wiles

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT

Just trust God, and everything will work out for the good.

The Porters were college friends with whom we had a common bond: we were both from South Carolina. They also had two children who were close in age to our two. One of which was our daughter’s “boyfriend.”

As so often happens, we lost track of them after graduation. Several years later, I received devastating news: their daughter had been killed. She was riding a bicycle, which was a little too large for her, rolled into the path of an oncoming truck, was struck, and died from the impact. Our family was stunned … and heartbroken. When I called to express my sympathies, the mom, with a broken voice, said, “We’re just trusting God to get us through this.”

I’ve heard enough religious platitudes in my lifetime to fill a small book. Some of them biblical, some not. Some well-timed, some ill-timed. But telling someone to trust God and that everything will work out for the good is true. But how, when, and where we say it, we must carefully consider.

Everything that comes into our lives won’t be good. I’ve experienced enough regretful things to fill a book. And actually, they have. Several, in fact. Having good things happen consistently wouldn’t necessarily make me trust God more. When things go well all the time, I tend to trust myself rather than God. Bad things turn my focus on him. Some turn a bitter focus, but others, me included, turn a longing focus. A longing to know why and how I should respond.

As I look back on the unfortunate things I’ve experienced, I also see how God brought good from them. The lessons I learned from correctly responding are innumerable. My trust in God rose, as did my faith. Since the consequences of bad events tend to hang around, sometimes for years, I’ve been able to continually see God bringing good things from bad circumstances.

God is a good God who wants us to experience good things—even if they have to come through unpleasant circumstances.

Trust God to manufacture good out of the bad times in your life.

Father, I have faith that you will turn the bad in my life into good that will spur me on to spiritual growth and bring glory to your name.

I invite you to try my book Grits, Grace, and God in eBook or paperback. If you want a daily dose of God's grace, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Buttery Biscuits

 

Ingredients

1 STICK BUTTER

1 CUP BUTTERMILK

2 CUPS SELF-RISING FLOUR

Directions

MELT BUTTER IN A LARGE IRON SKILLET IN A 400°F OVEN. 

MIX FLOUR AND BUTTERMILK TOGETHER AND POUR OVER MELTED BUTTER.

USE A BISCUIT CUTTER TO MAKE INDENTATIONS IN THE DOUGH.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO CUT THROUGH THE DOUGH. 

BAKE ON 400 DEGREES FOR 15 to 20 MINUTES.

 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

How an Unexpected Move Changed Everything - Martin Wiles

So listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haran. Genesis 27:43 NLT

We hadn’t planned on moving again until I retired, but an unexpected move changed everything.

The landlady came to pick up the rent check. Finding an affordable place to stay in a safe section of town had been a chore four years ago. We finally found an owner of a townhouse in a nice subdivision who said she’d lease. After checking our references, we moved in. For three more years, we repeated the process and hoped we’d do it for six more. No such luck.

After picking up the rent check, we received the news. We’d have to move. Our landlord was selling the townhouse. She and her husband were getting older and wanted to get everything out of their names. Our hope that she’d sell it to us on contract fell through as well. So we did what we didn’t want to do: moved.

Jacob found himself making an unexpected move as well. He had schemed and tricked his entire life. Now it was catching up with him. He had stolen his older brother’s birthright and final blessing. After hearing that her older son was scheming to kill her favored son, Jacob’s mother sent him on an unexpected move to his uncle’s house.

Unexpected moves can be enjoyable if a person likes change, but human nature usually bucks against unwanted change. I wasn’t looking forward to packing up our belongings and moving—even though our move would only be one subdivision over. Jacob probably wasn’t excited about the prospect of leaving his mommy either.

Unexpected moves can come because of poor decisions we’ve made, as in Jacob’s case, because of decisions others make, as in our case, or because of the wacky way the world turns due to its infection with sin. Confession is in order when a sinful decision leads to an unexpected move. If another’s actions, or a sinful turn of the world, have led to the move, we must accept it with a joyful attitude and be content in the new place God puts us.

Regardless of why we’re in a new place, God is with us and promises to guide our steps. We may change places, but God never leaves our side.

If life has taken you on an unexpected move, take God along.

Father, thank you for being by my side, wherever life takes me. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Changing Seasons - Sophia Widholm

He hath made every thing beautiful in His time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 KJV 

I enjoy the changing seasons. Summer drifting into fall. Winter fading into spring. Each transition brings a fresh aspect of seasonal beauty to life. But what about those seasonal changes that aren’t fixed in a calendar year? Those transitions that aren’t between spring and summer but are stages in life. 

Solomon said God makes everything beautiful in His time. From God’s perspective, changing seasons of life are beautiful and appropriate just like seasonal changes on the calendar. But sometimes we struggle to embrace those transitions. 

Some, like me, enjoy having a routine. It’s steady. It’s familiar. When life gets a little crazy, that routine helps us feel secure. And once we’re secure, we don’t want to readjust. But sometimes God asks us to step forward with Him into something new. Just like the seasons, God makes every change He brings into our lives have a proper time and place. Trusting His wisdom in choosing when that time and place is helps us overcome the fear of changing. 

Growing up in the Appalachian foothills, I had a love-hate relationship with Georgia summers. I relished time away from schoolwork, but loathed the smothering heat and stuffy days. Over time, though, I realized I could appreciate summer—not because I loved everything about it, but because God created it to have a special place among the seasons. 

Learning to enjoy every season of life requires a willingness to trust the Lord’s wisdom in leading us there. 

Is God leading you to a new stage? Are you hesitating in fear, resisting the next step? Ask God to help you see the beauty He sees in that season and to give you the courage to step into it. 

Father, help me to see each season as a beautiful gift from You. Help me to trust Your timing and wisdom. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Sophia Widholm is a professional writing major who wants to use her words to edify other believers. When she is not at college, she enjoys baking sourdough bread and taking walks in the North Georgia mountains. She is considering ways to serve the Lord after graduation through writing.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

What Is the Unforgivable Sin? - Martin Wiles

So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Matthew 12:31 NLT

For Hester Prynne in Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, it was an A; for many others, it is a D. But what is the unforgivable sin?

In a Puritanical time period, Hester Prynne made the mistake of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage and getting pregnant. Town members condemned, ostracized, and forced her to wear a scarlet letter, A, on her breast.

When I was growing up, most of the culture didn’t look favorably upon adultery either, particularly in the Bible Belt. But there was another sin that most looked equally upon with disfavor: divorce. Even most who were not religiously inclined believed that two married people should stay together through thick and thin. Those who didn’t, for whatever reason, were treated almost like Hester Prynne.

In church life, which I knew a lot about, the divorced were looked upon differently. They may have been allowed to join the church—after all, they surely needed Jesus since they were divorced--but they were allowed to do little else. Teaching, preaching, serving as a deacon, and working with children. These were all out of the question. The church was glad to have their money, but wanted little else from them. They had committed what many believed was the unpardonable sin.

Interestingly, divorce is not what Jesus classified as the unpardonable sin. He had strong words for those who attributed his work to Satan—and told them he would not forgive blasphemy (unbelief)--but he never said the same about divorce. In the Old Testament, God said he hated divorce, but he never said it was unforgivable.

Divorce is detrimental. While some choose it, others have it thrust upon them regardless of what they want. Its sad effects meander through families, churches, and nations. But it isn’t the unforgivable sin. The Bible is filled with examples of God using people with all types of issues in their backgrounds—murder included. If God can use murderers like David and Paul, surely He can use someone who has endured divorce.

Telling or implying that someone is unusable because they are divorced is as sinful as the sin they claim the divorced person has committed. God is in the business of restoration.

Don’t allow anything in your past to keep you from being used by God.

Father, help me allow you to use my past instead of letting it imprison me. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Black Bean Dip

 

 

Ingredients

1 CAN BLACK BEANS (DRAINED AND RINSED)

1 TABLESPOON JALAPENO (CHOPPED)

1/4 CUP DICED ONIONS

1/4 CUP SOUR CREAM

1/2 TEASPOON SALT

2 TABLESPOONS SALSA

1 1/4 CUP SHREDDED CHEESE

TORTILLA CHIPS

Directions

MASH BEANS WITH FORK.

ADD JALAPENO, ONION, SOUR CREAM, SALT, SALSA, AND 1 CUP CHEESE. MIX WELL.

POUR INTO A BAKING DISH.

TOP WITH REMAINING CHEESE.

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 20 TO 30 MINUTES.

SERVE WITH CHIPS.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Fed by God: Words That Nourish the Soul - Martin Wiles

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. 

~Psalm 81:10 NLT

When I heard the chirping, I knew their mouths were full. But they couldn’t receive words that nourish the soul as I could.

After settling into my new position as pastor of a small rural church, I placed a few things on the office building’s front porch. Among them, a bird house. Within a few days, a mother bluebird began building her nest. I looked from my office window as she carefully selected materials and brought them to the house. When she started entering the house, I knew she had laid her eggs.

Two weeks later, I knew the eggs had hatched. I heard small intermittent chirps. As the days passed, the chirps grew louder. I peeked out of my window and saw little mouths extended from the small hole as mom and dad bluebird hung on the outside of the birdhouse, stuffing food between those eager beaks. When they had filled their mouths, they flew off again to retrieve more food. It seemed the little birds couldn’t get enough.

Deliverance from Egyptian slavery was a landmark point in Israel’s history that God didn’t want His people to forget. After reminding the psalmist of this rescuing, God told him to open his mouth, and he would fill it with good things.

I’ve missed good things from God on countless occasions because I didn’t open my mouth. Somewhat like not getting things I could have had from God because I didn’t ask. When Jesus knocks, we must open; if we want, we must ask; and if we desire good things, we must open our mouths.

God is filled with love and mercy. He has wonderful plans for his children. He desires to give us more than we have, but he has conditions. Opening our mouths is one. As the baby birds eagerly received their parents’ food, we must accept what God offers. He offers instruction and encouragement from his Word. We’ll never go hungry or wrong when we receive it. He offers daily guidance from his Spirit. We’ll never make a wrong turn when we take it. He gives abundant opportunities. We’ll never regret taking them. All we must do is open our mouths.

Open your mouth, and let God fill it with good things.

Father, I yield my mouth to you and ask you to fill it with the good things you have in store. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.