Living with Hope - Martin Wiles

You lived in this world without God and without hope. Ephesians 2:12 NLT

The Evans family lived with hope despite living in what appeared to be hopeless circumstances.

Good Times was a 1970s sitcom about a dad, mom, and three children who lived on Chicago’s bad side. Every trip carried the risk of being mugged or raped. They lived in a rickety apartment building owned by a man who cared little for his tenants. Mom stayed home, cared for the children, cleaned the house, and cooked while Dad worked—at least, most of the time. Job layoffs came regularly. But somehow, they always managed to scrape by—and with a smile on their faces. Their secret for happiness, despite their unwelcome circumstances, came through something the mom instilled in the family: hope. A hope built on a deep trust in God.

Paul reminded his readers that they once lived without hope. They had it presently only because they accepted the Jesus he preached.

Hopelessness is a terrible state of existence. Believing that nothing will ever improve or seeing a future that will never be any better than the present. Looking at the past and seeing that it wasn’t any better than the present. However, anyone can live with hope instead of succumbing to hopelessness.

As Florida Evans discovered, hope is not built on circumstances. Millions would have none on any given day if that were the case. Regardless of our financial state, living consistently without anything going wrong isn’t the norm. Hope built on circumstances quickly materializes into hopelessness.

We have hope because we trust the one who controls the circumstances and believe he can take what appears, or is, evil and form good from it. Believing he is the creator and controller of all things instills confidence.

Living with hope is an inner attitude that leads to outward change. Florida Evans was able to transfer her hope to her family, even her unbelieving husband. Hope is transferable. If we live with hope, we can give it to those God puts in our paths. Our attitude will influence theirs.

Florida Evans’ hope was built on her belief in God. Ours must be, too. Nothing else will give us true, consistent hope. All other foundations will flounder.

Choose to live with hope, not merely survive with hopelessness.

Father, I have hope that you love me, control my circumstances, and will guide me through whatever you allow into my life. 

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.

When the World Changed - Martin Wiles

So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. Number 21:6 NLT

I once thought I would have enjoyed living during the Great Depression, but . . .

When I was younger, I could find people who had suffered through the Great Depression. I loved talking to them—my grandfather included. I enjoy reading history books about that same period. The stock market crashed, banks closed, unemployment skyrocketed, bread lines opened, work programs appeared, people traveled across the country looking for work, and, unfortunately, many committed suicide. Some lost all they had. People learned to survive on the bare essentials. However, good things came from the economic breakdown as well. People pulled together and demonstrated kindness. They looked to each other and God. But that was then, and this was now.

“We need some groceries,” my wife said.

My monthly paycheck had arrived. Usually, my wife made a list and headed there herself. Not now. COVID-19 changed our lives and the world. Officials enacted social distancing. Some stores closed early to disinfect, our retailer being one of them.

Having just gotten over strep throat, my wife didn’t need to be around too many people. That meant going as soon as the store opened. Some stores allowed no one except senior adults in during the first few hours. I qualified. Additionally, we had two of our grandboys during the week, and we didn’t want them exposed.

So, at 6:30 am on a Sunday—enough time to shop and return before going to church, where I preached to empty pews—we pulled into the Walmart parking lot. A few others had the same idea. Go early and avoid the risk of exposure. The store would be disinfected, and most people would still be home in bed. And the shelves might even be stocked, since hopefully the hoarders would still be asleep, too. We struck pay dirt, getting everything we needed and avoiding seeing more than thirty people.

The previous day, pen sickness had overcome us. When I used the phrase on my adult daughter, she said, “What?” I had to explain. My wife and I had tired of the four walls. We needed to get out. Living in town differed from living in the country. There, we could have roamed acres of land without coming in contact with anyone. Not so in the city.

We called a couple and asked if they wanted to ride to a nearby park that officials had yet to close. The park hosted a few hiking trails, and we imagined a nice getaway where we could enjoy God’s creation and still maintain social distancing. Getting out in nature and doing a little exercise did us all a world of good. We were thankful for a place we could still go without the threat of contracting the virus that ravaged our world.

Never in all my life had I used so much hand sanitizer or washed my hands so often. I’m a firm believer that exposure to germs builds an immune system. And I think I’m right. I lick my finger before passing out papers to my middle schoolers and handle the papers they turn in without thought, washing my hands only after using the restroom or touching poisonous materials. But not then. Coronavirus changed my world.

The Israelites’ world also changed. They did their usual thing: disobeyed God. God had punished them in various ways, but this time, He rocked their world with poisonous snakes. Many died. Only those who looked at the bronze serpent Moses erected lived. Their look was one of faith. After all, faith is the one thing that gets us through a changed world.

Never in my lifetime—or in the lifetime of anyone I have known—has something changed our world as COVID-19 did in 2020. Thousands died, medicines were only experimental, and no vaccine existed. Social distancing made us feel disconnected, even though social media kept us together. But Twitter, Skype, Instagram, and Facebook didn’t substitute for a good hug, sitting next to someone, or shaking a hand.

New normals get our attention, making us sit up straighter and focus. And this one did. I’m not saying God sent the virus—He could have. After all, He did send snakes. But at the very least, He used it to bring out the good in people, to promote unity, and to help us love each other more.

When massive change comes, we can hoard and turn inwardly or turn outwardly and upwardly. Undoubtedly, COVID-19 changed our world in a way it had never experienced before. For those who responded appropriately during the virus, we, in the aftermath, now see people differently, love God more passionately, and rearrange a few of the things that we once considered necessary. After all, whoever thought toilet paper would top our grocery list?

Don’t let change diminish your trust in the God who controls.

Father, when things seem out of control, turn my eyes to the One who remains in control. 

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Walk-on Wednesday - Living with a Thankful Spirit - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. Hebrews 12:28 NLT

I received his message as I sat down at my computer to write.

The message read simply, “I’ve been enjoying your Love Lines. Can you send me your number?” Ironically, I had just thought about my friend a week ago. Almost eight years had passed since we’d sat down and reminisced. He and I had been work associates right after graduating from high school—over three decades before—but our lives had taken us in different directions. Periodically, we’d spend some time catching up.

Excitedly, I sent him my number. Within five minutes, my phone rang. His voice sounded the same—his spirit just as chipper as I remember it always had been. For the next thirty minutes, we caught up on the last eight years. I was thankful I had a good friend. Although the miles separated us, I knew I could depend on him if I truly needed him.

First-century inhabitants also had reason to be thankful if they listened to and accepted the message of the early apostles. Their contemporaries may have killed Jesus and placed his body in a cold tomb, but God had raised him up and validated salvation for anyone who chose to believe. An eternal kingdom awaited them.

I’m not always as thankful as I should be. Sometimes it takes a call from an old acquaintance to remind me what I’ve had and still have. Among the many things I don’t have on earth that I might enjoy having, the eternal things ahead outweigh them all and should prompt me to give thanks in the present. I have a promise from an eternal God that he knows and will supply my needs and a further promise that he has an eternal home prepared for me to enjoy. By worshipping him in truth and spirit, I show my thankfulness for these two promises and many more he gives.

Are you demonstrating a thankful spirit?

Prayer: Father, we thank You for all that’s good and for Your love for us. 

Tweetable: Are you living with a thankful spirit? 

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Walk-on Wednesday - Take the Oil - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Psalm 23:5b NKJV

Never had I encountered such aggravation.

Although my mom birthed me in New Jersey, I knew nothing of living there. After three months, my father was discharged from the Army, and we headed back to the lower regions of South Carolina where most of my family resided.

I’m sure I encountered these insects of aggravation soon thereafter—although I had to age a little before I understood what they were. Gnats. The most aggravating insect I’ve ever encountered. During my middle school years, when Dad moved us to Tennessee for four years, I enjoyed not having to fight with these persistent bugs which love to fly in ears, noses, and mouths.

When we moved back to South Carolina, my vacation from gnats ended. I suppose I learned to live with them because nothing got rid of them. Dousing myself with insect repellant kept them off the exact parts of my body where I put the repellant, but they swarmed in front of me and around me, looking for one spot where I had not lavished any repellant.

People not from the South think we in the South are friendly because we generally wave at everyone. What they don’t know is that often we’re just shooing away gnats.

A good shepherd, David included, knew all about aggravating insects and parasites. Although the summer grazing on the mountain summits excited the sheep, the bugs that come along with the warm weather didn’t. One type of fly entered the sheep’s nose and laid larvae in their heads. The resulting bug ran around in the sheep’s head, causing the sheep to thrash about and bang their heads against anything that might provide relief.

To prevent this fly from entering the sheep’s nose—and to keep the rams from hurting each other during mating season—the shepherd applied various oils to the sheep’s head and nose.

I’ve discovered aggravations are parcel to life. They don’t all come at one time, although sometimes they seem to bunch up, but they do appear regularly. A lost job, a low-paying job, a broken-down vehicle, a malfunctioning appliance, an untrustworthy friend, a bullying peer, an unpaid bill, an unexpected surgery, or a rebellious child or grandchild. The list seems endless.

A part of enjoying life is expecting the aggravations. They infiltrate a world cursed by sin—a world that changed from God’s original purpose the moment Adam and Eve decided to disobey His instructions. When we expect the aggravations, our attitudes don’t deteriorate so quickly when they arrive.

God also gives us the mind of Christ. Jesus always operated according to the Father’s will, never sinning despite the aggravations He encountered. Allowing His Spirit to guide and prepare us helps us face aggravations without responding in an unChristlike manner.

When we learn to live life joyfully, even with the aggravations, our cup overflows. Like the sheep who grazed contentedly because the shepherd had warded off the bugs that aggravated them, we’ll face life with optimism, knowing our Good Shepherd’s blessings will outweigh the aggravations.

Don’t let life’s aggravations cause you to miss out on God’s best for you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your oil of love that gives us strength to face life’s aggravations and keep going.

Tweetable: Are you accepting or rejecting God's oil? 

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Quail to the Rescue - Martin Wiles

That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. Exodus 16:13 NLT

One by one, they dropped from the tree.

As a young lad growing up in the flatlands of South Carolina, seeing blackbirds in the fall and winter months was common. Thousands decorated the sky, and I clapped to make them separate. Hundreds adorned trees, then dropped one by one to consume the fruit beneath.

For many years now, I’ve not seen blackbirds as I once did. Perhaps their migratory patterns have changed. Maybe I live in the wrong region.

Then, one day I saw them again as I took my late afternoon walk one warm winter day in February. Hundreds covered an oak tree. Two by two they dropped to the ground beneath to eat the acorns that lay on the ground. Memories of carefree days when I was young and the world seemed like a better place returned.

But I’ve never seen thousands of quail as the Israelites did. No sooner had God delivered them from 400 years of slavery than they grumbled because they didn’t have food and water. God solved the problem. As evening neared, He sent thousands of quail upon their camp. So many that they couldn’t eat them all. A demonstration of His grace and wrath.

The story reminds me that God will provide for His people … for me … one among millions, but also that His provision varies. Such as the time when my wife and I experienced a rough financial period and someone deposited #100 in our bank account. Thinking a teller had put money in the wrong account, we called our daughter who’s a teller at the bank. No mistake, but it was a cash deposit so she couldn’t tell us who made it. We thanked them anyway—and God—for placing our need upon their hearts.

Sometime, God provides for us in miraculous ways. He sends the quail … or the money. On other occasions, He gives us the wisdom to figure things out. For my wife and I, the latter has been the norm. We still give God the credit. Regardless of the way He chooses to provide, God will provide.

Trust that God will meet your needs because You are His child. He has promised.

Prayer: Father, thank You for sending just what we need when we need it.

Tweetable: How has God come to your rescue? 

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Soul Drought - Martin Wiles

He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. Ezekiel 37:2 NLT

The crunch beneath my feet told the story.

A moderate drought often descends on our area of the state. Spring rains come, and then about the time grass, flowers, trees, and gardens need water to stave off the summer’s heart, a drought strikes. Weeks pass with little or no rain. Things that aren’t watered by people or sprinkler systems wither and die. Grass crunches beneath my feet as I walk across the yard. Brief showers here and there do more harm than good when the sun quickly reappears with a ferocious bite of heat.

And vegetation isn’t the only thing affected during these drought periods. People’s attitudes sour. Their patience level deteriorates. Fights break out more often and more easily. Coarse words flow from mouths, fingers, and pens—words that ordinarily would remain unspoken. The ground is dry—and so are souls.

When the rains finally arrive, miracles occur. Branches on the trees perk up. Flowers raise their heads. Grass springs back to life. And people become nice again. Rain ends the physical and the soul drought.

God’s people in Ezekiel’s day experienced a soul drought. God had sent them into exile because of their disobedience to Him.

I’ve experienced the soul droughts more times than I care to remember. And I’m sure I have more ahead. I can bring on the drought the same way God’s people of old did when I choose to live in disobedience to God’s commands. Jesus promised abundant life for His children, but it only comes through obedience. When I choose another route, He sends a soul drought. One that zaps my happiness, my focus, and my joy of living.

But there are other times when the droughts come through no fault of our own. Life happens. Friends and family members die. Jobs disappear. Tests are failed. Relationships end—without us wanting them to. Health episodes happen. Surgeries occur. Falls take place. Tragedies strike. And if we are not careful, a soul drought will come on the heels of any of these things.

Droughts are staved off by turning to God—through confession, if needed, and through trust. We confess our sin, and we confess our inability to handle life without His assistance. When we do, He sends the rain that refreshes our souls and gives us the energy to take face another day.

When your soul drought comes, turn to the only One who can send the rain.

Prayer: Father, we depend on You to send the rain for our parched souls when the droughts come.

Tweetable: Are you facing a soul drought? 

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Remember What Is Good - Ashley Dutch

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8 CSB

I was quite content on my way home from work. 

Having been told I would receive a raise the next Monday—although it wasn’t much—I was still grateful for God’s provision. At the time, I lived alone on a meager salary, but God had provided my every need. 

I thought back to a year before when I checked my mail. Sale flyer, junk mail, water bill. I opened the water bill, expecting the usual amount of $19.00. Boy, was I wrong. The bill was over $400! I’m sure my blood pressure rose as anxiety overwhelmed my mind and body. How was I going to pay that bill? More importantly, why was it $400 in the first place?

Soon, I found out there was a leak in the water line running to the house. But God was with me. Friends and family appeared to help me dig up and fix the line. The water company also excused half the bill.

One day, I walked into my house and noticed my kitchen table flooded with groceries and other necessities, from cereal to shampoo that my sister had purchased for me so I would not have to worry about the basics. What a wonderful example of selflessness, kindness, and love.

The blessings and miracles of God are everywhere, and, honestly, sometimes they are easy to forget. Whether I am in a difficult situation or things are going my way, I love to look back on all He has done for me and on all the times He was there, even when it didn’t feel as if He was. It doesn’t take long to see God’s fingerprints throughout my life and the footprints of Jesus walking beside me even when I feel alone. 

At a quick glance, we can find something demonstrating God’s love, whether through His creation, in His people, or in His Word. Sometimes, it’s easy to dwell on the negative. The bad stuff can take over our thoughts and minds. In times like these, we can cling to God’s Word, reminding us to think on what is lovely and true. 

God will always love you and will never leave you.

Tweetable: Are you remembering how good God is? 

Ashley Dutch lives in Crossville, Tennessee, with her husband who owns a pressure cleaning business. Ashley is pursuing a ministry in Christian writing. She and her husband enjoy God’s creation—hiking in the woods, searching for seashells on the beach. The Lord is their true passion, and they enjoy spending time serving Him.

God Shows Off - Martin Wiles

Series: The Truth about Trials

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2 NLT

Her greatest trial was her husband.

Joy Davidman was a wife and a mother of two boys who slowly let go of her atheism through the far-away influence of a former atheist, C. S. Lewis. Through a series of events, Davidman met Lewis and shared her struggles. Lewis grieved for her, especially when she had to return to the States and to her miserable situation.

Unable to reconcile things with her alcoholic and adulterous husband, Davidman decided to return to England with her boys and sue for divorce. Two years later, England refused to renew her visa. Not wanting her to return to her miserable situation, Lewis married her in a civil ceremony.

One year later, Davidman fell and broke her leg. X-rays showed not only a break but also cancer … throughout her body. Lewis finally located an Anglican priest to marry them properly. Davidman expected to die, but miraculously her cancer went into remission. Three years later, it returned with a vengeance. She died in the spring.

In his book, A Greif Observed, Lewis, in speaking of his wife’s death, wrote, “Not that I am in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not ‘So there’s no God after all,’ but ‘So that is what God’s really like. Deceive yourself no longer.’”

Though James says to count it all joy when troubles come, getting discouraged, depressed, and disappointed is more common … and easier. Even more difficult, as Lewis discovered, is resisting the temptation to see God as something other than what He presents Himself as. Fortunately, Lewis, and many others, have overcome the temptation.

Trials, when responded to correctly, grow our understanding of God’s grace (2 Corinthians 12:9). Grace doesn’t always remove the trail, but it moves us through it. By God’s grace, salvation comes, and by God’s grace, strength to endure and overcome whatever Satan brings or God allows also arrives.

We may not understand why, but God’s grace can put us into situations, such as Lewis’, that completely confound us. We tend to put God in a box, but trials have a way of showing us that our narrow interpretations or ideas of Him can’t contain Him.

God’s grace is more magnificent than you can ever imagine. Let it carry you through whatever trial you face.

Prayer: Father, we worship You because You are a God of grace—grace that will see us through each and every trouble in life.

Tweetable: Are you letting God show off through your trials?

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Whatever I Need - Martin Wiles

The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to his rescue every time. Psalm 34:19 NLT

God is many things to many people, but whatever He is, He’s the right thing.

While waiting for my bathwater to finish running, I stepped into my bedroom, only to hear a loud crash. Running to the bathroom to investigate, I found the bathroom window lying in the bathtub, shattered into a million pieces. God became my Savior … of another type.

When I refused to walk outside after dark—despite my father’s reminder that it wasn’t anything in the dark that wasn’t there in the light—I needed someone to reassure me. God became my protector.

In those times when the paycheck hasn’t stretched enough to cover the monthly bills, God has shown me repeatedly that He’s sufficient to meet my needs regardless of what the math says.

When relationships disintegrated into nothingness, when people tore my heart to pieces, and when my kids went astray, God became my comforter, my rescuer, and my peace.

If I didn’t have the words to comfort someone who’d faced significant loss, God either gave me the words or supplied the strength to be exactly what they needed.

And when I was a nine-year-old young lad, my father told me I had sinned and fallen short of God’s forgiveness. But God gave me hope. He had sent His only begotten Son to pay for my sins. All I had to do was ask for forgiveness—which I did. God became my Savior.

The psalmist acknowledged that troubles don’t leave believers alone. Christian history and experience teach this truth. The difference comes in the response to the trials. Believers believe God controls the trial and will rescue them in one way or another. We have hope that nonbelievers don’t.

God doesn’t change shapes when He comes to us, nor is He shapeless. He is a spirit, but He manifests Himself in the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through the Father, He manifests the attributes any good father should when interacting with his children. As Son, He can save from sin, along with any other saving we need. And as Spirit, He resides in us to give us the daily guidance, support, wisdom, and courage we need to face life’s trials and troubles.

Whatever you need God to be to you, know that He’ll oblige.

Prayer: Father, we trust You to be just the right thing we need when we need You.

Tweetable: Are you letting God be all you need?

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When God Gives You a Hand - Sarah Lynn Phillips

I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. Psalm 73:23

I stopped typing … mid-sentence.

What was going on? I wiggled my right thumb, pressed the space bar a few times, and wiggled it again. Why did my thumb joint hurt . . . suddenly?

My mom's arthritis issues came to mind. She lost the ability to cut apples, peel potatoes, slice bread, and even write well because the joints in her thumbs prohibited her from doing so. My heart sank. Wasn't I a little young for this? Didn't God know I needed my hands to keep house, cook, and write? Didn't I deal with enough limitations? And why my right hand?

Another voice echoed in my thoughts. That of a doctor … four years after our car crash. "People who've been victims of trauma develop severe arthritis after ten years." She pointed her finger at me. "You have six years left." Eight years had passed.

Over the next few weeks, the pain came and went. Some days, I could type and work like normal. Other days, I noticed some discomfort—not bad, but enough for me to breath a prayer asking God to preserve my hand and thumb capabilities.

A long-forgotten phrase came to me as a whisper at first, nudging me to look it up. I found the words tucked in the writings of Isaiah: "For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not. I am the one who helps you'" (Isaiah 41:13). I noted verse 10: "I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

In ancient days, the right hand signified strength, authority, and blessing. I drew great comfort from the prophet’s words. The God of the universe holds my right hand, the very hand giving me trouble. His presence scatters my fears and offers reassurance—just as when a friend squeezes your hand, sharing hope and warm support without a word.  Only God’s touch is better. Infinitely better.

Humanly speaking, I will pursue a healthy lifestyle, including an anti-inflammatory diet. But every time my thumb acts up, I'm prompted to remember that God promises to hold my right hand with His right hand.

God promises to help us, no matter what the future chapters of our life stories hold. 

Tweetable: Are you holding God's hand?

Sarah Lynn Phillips has authored numerous articles, devotions, and poems for both online and print publications. She offers a vision of hope in the hard times through her writing and speaking. Her favorite place is home where she enjoys spending time with her family, hosting her writers' group, and reading a great story. Contact Sarah: sarahlynnphillips3@gmail.com. You can get her book, Penned Without Ink, by clicking on the image. 

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