Higher Ways - Martin Wiles

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Isaiah 55:8 NLT

“Joey’s not dead.”

When the grandkids are present—which is almost daily—conversations around the supper table ebb and flow. This particular time, our daughter told of a recent weekend when she introduced her oldest son to her boyfriend’s brother whose name is Joey.

“Levi, this is Chris’s brother Joey,” she said.

“From "Friends"?” Levi asked.

"Friends" is not only my daughter’s favorite program but also both of her sons because they watch it every night as they fall asleep. In fact, the television stays on all night and runs episode after episode.

“Joey died laughing,” our daughter concluded.

That’s when the oldest grandson assumed Joey had died. A perfect example of how easy we can misunderstand something someone says. The reason also why I teach my Language Art students to avoid clichés when writing. They may know what they mean, but others from a different region of their country—or from another country entirely—may not.

And then there’s God ways. Like my grandson, I have misunderstood something God said in His Word or not comprehended how He works in my life. That’s because His ways surpass mine and His thoughts often escape my grasp.

Knowing God’s ways and thoughts are beyond complete understanding isn’t an excuse for me not to trust Him as He works in my life. I walk by faith, not sight—and by trust, not total comprehension. My entire journey with God requires faith. If I had to possess complete understanding, I would have given up on God years ago.

God is God. And while I can recognize much of how He works, I’ll never comprehend the entirety of His plan. I can know He has a purpose in what He allows into my life. His plan includes my spiritual growth, as well as equipping me for the work He gives me to accomplish. Having the skills to complete that plan often requires preparation—and the way He chooses to prepare me is what I often don’t fathom. That’s where faith kicks in.

God’s ways are higher than yours, but He will reveal them in such a way that you can understand enough to obey and enjoy abundant living. 

Ask God for understanding so you can move forward.

Tweetable: What happens when you don't understand God's ways?

Prayer: Father, help us to know Your mind so we can do Your will.

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Flashback Friday - Calm in the Chaos - Martin Wiles

Calm in the Chaos

What appears incapable of incapacitating can often incapacitate nonetheless. 

Meteorologists advised the South to prepare. A major winter storm packing snow and ice was on the way. Many school officials sent students home before it arrived or either canceled classes entirely. But some in and around Atlanta, Georgia, weren’t so fortunate. By the time students were dismissed, roads were too treacherous for buses to navigate. Students were returned to schools. Buses couldn’t take them home, and parents couldn’t retrieve them. The interstates weren’t any better. Ice and accidents produced a congested tangle with hundreds being forced to spend the night in their vehicles or abandon them and walk for help. Read more...

Tweetable: How do you find calm in your chaos?

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Unpacking and Packing - Martin Wiles

I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. Genesis 13:15 NLT

Once again, I assembled boxes to pack items in.

My recent resignation meant moving—thankfully, not to a new residence, but packing nevertheless. I love books. If I had all the books I’d ever bought, I wouldn’t have room for me and my wife or anything else to live in our small patio townhome. In spite of giving many away, I continue to collect. Moving them taxes the back and requires many small boxes—unless you are Hercules, which I’m not.

Presently, books filled one of our bedrooms and my office at church. Now that I had resigned, the books at church had to go. Moving … again. The thought of it made my stomach churn—even though it was just a small job. Three friends accompanied. Their extra hands and the fellowship made the task bearable.

Within a brief time, the books nestled in boxes, ready for transportation to our nearby storage shed where they’d stay until I unpacked them again. I rarely used any of the books I packed, but merely seeing them brought me comfort. Now, I’d have to say goodbye until a later time.

Packing and unpacking has consumed my life. I once calculated the average of how long I had lived in any certain place: less than two years. Part of this was my dad’s fault. With the exception of the last one, he didn’t pastor any one church very long. Although I didn’t intend to, I repeated his pattern.

Abraham was a mover, too. He and his descendants were Bedouins, until God told him to leave his homeland and go to a land where his descendants would inhabit and become as numerous as the stars in heaven. Abraham never experienced the fulfillment of that promise, but hundreds of years later his descendants settled in the land and became farmers and shepherds.

God has promised me a land also. One where I’ll have a permanent dwelling and won’t have to pack and unpack anymore. I can’t wait. That will be a welcome experience. To live in the same place for eternity. I’ve made the preparation for the final move by accepting the forgiveness of my sins offered by Christ. That seals the deal for me—and anyone else.

Are you packed for your final move?

Tweetable: Are you ready for the final move?

Prayer: Father, thank You for providing a permanent dwelling place for Your children where we’ll never have to move again.

Time for a Change - Martin Wiles

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT

I knew the time had come to go.

The church had been through a rough time, but I had high hopes for a bright future. It didn’t happen. One problem after another erupted. People left for various reasons, but I had a sneaky suspicion they weren’t satisfied with me as their pastor.

Soon, our congregation diminished to half of its original size. Though not outwardly, I felt the finger of pressure pointed at me to do something. I tried numerous things—actions that should have returned life to the church. Nothing worked. More people left. Less money came in.

After a year of watching things go downhill, I took a voluntary pay cut and took a second job. Income at the church continued to decline. We cut positions, as well as the salary of those we kept on the payroll. Still, more meandered out each month than came in.

My spirit became restless, a sure sign God was about to do something. A business meeting that turned into a finger-pointing session helped me make the final decision to resign. I knew the time had come to go … to move on to another venue.

The decision wasn’t difficult. I knew it was the right choice. What I didn’t know was how my wife and I would meet our monthly obligations. Our bills were based on two jobs, not one that didn’t pay enough to satisfy those needs. Still, I didn’t change my mind. We had persevered through a difficult season, and God was moving us somewhere else. We just didn’t know where.

Solomon said what everyone knows, but what we sometimes don’t enjoy: change happens. We can’t prevent it, though it is almost always uncomfortable and uncertain.

This episode that happened in my latter working years reinforced the principles I’d learned along life’s way: never make a change or decision without God’s guidance. And that comes through prayer.

Peace is also a sign the change is God’s plan. In spite of the uncertainty, my wife and I both experienced peace about my decision to resign. No regret hung over our heads. Now, we will trust God for provision. When in His will, He’s promised to meet our needs. And when all is said and done, we can celebrate the joy of obedience.

When God instructs you to change, know He’s gone ahead of you and prepared the way.

Tweetable: How do you react to change?

Prayer: Father, we trust you to care for us in all the changes You lead us through.

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Throwback Tuesday - Taming the Tongue - Martin Wiles

Taming the Tongue

If it can’t be tamed, why bother trying?

I’ve never tamed something wild, but I have trained a few wild domesticated animals. Presently we have a cat named Emma which we adopted from the animal shelter. She wasn’t our first choice, but somehow she found her way into our house anyway. It wasn’t long before we wondered if we had made the better selection. Emma was young and wild, but through scolding, bribing, swatting, and water squirting we have brought her rambunctiousness under control. Read more...

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A Best Friend - Martin Wiles

You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend. Psalm 88:18 NLT

She was there—and then she was gone.

Izzy and Annabelle became friends in kindergarten. I taught them Language Arts in middle school when I first met them. In one of their composition papers, Izzy told the story. She and Annabelle were lifelong friends. Until one year when Annabelle didn’t return to school. Izzy didn’t know what had happened to her. She later found out Annabelle had moved to another state. Then, one school year, Annabelle returned. They acted as if she had never left. Their friendship picked up where it left off, and they remain good friends today.

I can’t relate. I have no lifelong friends. Dad preached, and we moved on average every two years. Knowing this would happen, I chose not to get close to anyone. I continued the tradition when I became a minister and the moves continued. Although I have many friends, I have no one person I’ve been friends with since my kindergarten days.

One friend I’ve had a few times—but one I certainly don’t want for a lifetime—is darkness. The psalmist didn’t want him either, but he came anyway. Desertion by others, along with afflictions, caused him to show up.

Darkness. Depression. Disappointment. Either name will do. He tends to hang around longer than I want and can show up more often than I’d like. A couple of times in my lifetime, he stayed much too long. No matter how often I told him to leave—that I didn’t want him as my friend—he wouldn’t budge. His companionship made me feel worse, not better. He wasn’t the type of friend I wanted, but he wanted to be my friend nevertheless.

Trials and difficulties pepper our lives. M. Scott Peck said it best: “Life is difficult.” A simple yet profound statement. If I don’t respond correctly to trials, my friend darkness will show up and make my experience darker. He’ll zap my strength, isolate me, and ruin every day.

Counseling, medicine, and friends may help, but only my best friend—yes I have one—can deliver me. Jesus is the only companion who will never leave us, who will always give us good advice through His Word, and who will walk with us through our periods of darkness while comforting and encouraging us along the way.

When darkness shows up, introduce him to the Light.

Tweetable: What do you do if the wrong friend shows up?

Prayer: Father, in our dark periods of life, we ask You to walk by our sides.

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