Fear - Walking on Mustard Seeds

Compass Living in Confusing Times

God has a place for us now, where we can stretch out and be explorers once again. Like our boundless childhood imagination, God’s covering operates in much the same way.

Living in a sweet spot used to be more commonplace. Conversations quickly jump to discussions of real issues in the world, and it is hard not to—well, stress. But our addiction to worry destroys what God intends for us. You see, sweet spot living is available today, and it’s God’s plan for us to go from mercy to mercy to mercy.

This week on my YouTube channel, we talk about the covering of God in stressful times.

God has a place for us now, where we can stretch out and be explorers once again. Like our boundless childhood imagination, God’s covering operates in much the same way.

The King James Version of Psalm 32 verse 10b says “ …he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.”

Compass. Hmmm. Are you wondering if you know the full meaning of the word compass? I did too! It surely has more meaning than an instrument used for direction at sea or on land. I looked it up to find out.

AND IT DOES!

Compass comes from the meaning of a limitless boundary. If you hold a compass in your hand, it can guide you wherever you want to go. If God is compassing us, we have unlimited help.

Here are a few ways this works.

He will lead you in times of distress or worry.
He will walk with you.
He is at your side, behind you, and in front of you.
He can show you wisdom to apply or what to avoid.
He can change a situation or set another in motion.

No matter life’s pressures, God marks the boundary lines for us to walk. Do you realize the devil wants to limit you? He wants to place a suffocating boundary of fear and worry over you.

Isn’t it funny how people think living for God is limiting when the reality is he has so much for you? Are you confused? Hang on.

We need to look at one more word in that verse, mercy. Picture this, God is unlimited guidance. As he guides us through our painful situations that can create more stress or worry he hands us mercy after mercy.

The verse says, “… mercy shall compass …” us. To be clear, we are surrounded by his mercies.

What is mercy? It is a feeling or state of mind? It can create good feelings and soundness of our thoughts. Mercy is God overlooking every error on our part and the arrows sent in our direction by the devil. God stretches his favor toward you in the middle of all the muck with his overarching favor.

It may look like a coincidence.
It may look like a text from a distant friend to say they are praying for you.
It may look like a new job opportunity.
It may look like pouring over scripture at night and being able to take your first deep breath of the day.

That is God at work. We do NOT need to fear because he has mercy for us in the center of life’s burdens.

God’s mercy will show up in unique ways for each of your life situations. Keep looking to him, seeking his boundaries of protection, and you will recognize his mercy again and again. Hopefully, you begin to recognize it as commonplace with a childlike wonder.

Point God’s mercy out to someone you know, then they too can start seeing it in their life.

I would love to hear how God has extended mercy in your life lately! Please share in the comments. Let’s thank God for his unbound direction and mercy!

Prepare the Way

Prepare the Way For Florida is live on YouTube. Come for a visit!

Signature line, Keep Walking on Mustard Seeds, Michele

P.S. I am working on edits with my talented editor, Dalene Bickel, and have officially hired my book designer. Exciting things are coming!

How You Win the Battle

You are a well-designed vessel for this one life, but to get the best out of this life, you must operate by using His user manual. Yes, this is a talk about Scripture, our source for knowing how to think about ourselves, the people around us, and the world.

Y’all, life has never felt more stressful. I am living my fifth decade, so I can say without a doubt, that politics and the state of the world have never been discussed more at the dinner table and in the canned food aisle. Seriously, complete strangers and I gasp together at prices that seem to rise daily, with the sun.

If you’re like me, you catch yourself griping about the costs. Add the doom and gloom on every news report guaranteeing the worst is about to happen.

And then I groan at myself!

Why?

Because God’s word tells me not to worry or complain.

Stay with me, because I am going to flip this entire story.

You are not created to function well under constant negative thoughts and news. It produces toxic reactions in your body, making all other facets of your life miserable.

You are a well-designed vessel for this one life, but to get the best out of this life, you must operate by using His user manual. It is the instruction book for living and thinking right.

Yes, this is a talk about Scripture, our source for knowing how to think about ourselves, the people around us, and the world.

Is this the shift you were expecting? I hope so. You see, God rights E V E R Y T H I N G. His master plan always corrects our course–if we look to His word for instructions we see ourselves aligning with Him.

Think of David who was summoned to fight Goliath. He did not shrink at the news of this massive war-hungry man. No! David stood in his full stature, knowing who God is and what his own skill set brought to the battle.

Psalm 146:5, in the AMPC version, says, “Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is he who has the God of [special revelation to] Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.”

Now, if you have ever studied a foreign language, you know there are difficulties in finding the exact word to fully grasp a foreign word. I remember literature professors lamenting about this for poetry translated into English. This is why several words are used in the AMPC version for one word. They are laying out several options that fit the original language used in Scripture because we do not have one word that encompasses the vast meaning of the original word. The introduction to the AMPC explains this in fuller detail.

Let’s get back to the scripture.

God’s word is declaring, (picture a bugle call): you are “happy, blessed, fortunate, and enviable”. Life does not get much better than that! Repeat out loud, “I am happy, blessed, fortunate, and enviable”. I would repeat that at least five times. Can’t you feel your brain relaxing and rejoicing at this news?!

And why do you embody these gifts from God? The verse says it is because you have God, who has special revelation, help, and hope, for Y O U ! I want God in my corner, ready to help and show me hope that my circumstances don’t reveal yet.

We’ll save the revelation part for another time, but don’t miss out on context.

The help, hope, and revelation He gives to you is what? Special. God’s personal relationship with you is special. Do you know the opposite of special is ordinary? Your relationship with God is anything BUT ordinary!

Do you need revelation for today? Do you need help today? What are you hoping for or lost hope in?

Stand on the truth that you are happy, blessed, and enviable. Lift your eyes to the Lord, seeking His revelation, help, and hope. Know, as young David did, He is in this moment with you. And, you are equipped with your experience and training to face this day.

More of the Same, but …

The news will continue in its attempt to bury your hope and happiness. You have a ready weapon for this battle and this is why you are enviable.

The devil came to destroy, but – News Alert! (Do you hear the ticker tape too?)

Jesus won the war! In Him, you are winning too.

Thank you, Lord!

Your Turn

How do you see yourself as equipped and experienced? Please share in the comments.

Photo by Hassan Pasha on Unsplash

“Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC),

God Sees After Us

Welcome back. Let’s open our bibles to Nehemiah 9:9.

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay

“You saw our fathers’ affliction in Egypt, and You heard their cry at the Red Sea.” (‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭9:9,‬ ‭AMPC‬‬)

Envy filled my heart as I babysat my friend’s newborn baby. She had a quick errand to run and her sweet son was sleeping. As she ran through the important details of when she would be back, I stared at the baby monitor. It had live video and sound! We could watch her baby sleeping. The difference between a cry uttered in sleep or a true, “I am awake” cry, could be discerned quickly by glancing at the screen. This device would have relieved a lot of stress when my girls were young.

God has never needed technology to see our hearts and thoughts. He saw the suffereing of the Isralites when they were in slavery. He saw them when their backs were against the Red Sea while Pharaoh’s army pursued them.

God sees our worries about the economy, the health of our loved ones, and concerns about life returning to normal. He knows each fear as it tries to grip us.

God has compassion for us. Out of his compassion he provides. For the Israelites, that meant freedom from Pharaoh and an escape through the Red Sea.

He provides joy every morning. (Psalm 30:5) He provides an easy yoke. (Matthew 11:30) He provides his hand in ours. (Isaiah 41:13)

Lord,

You guided the people through the Red Sea. Their fears were turned to awe and worship. You are here, guiding us through this day. I am going to tell you my fears and hard situations, just like the Israelites did. I will cry out to you when fear starts to direct my day. And sit in awe and worship you as you provide a way out from my fears.

“Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified^® Bible (AMPC),
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. http://www.lockman.org/ “

God Is Preserving

Welcome back! Grab your bible and open to Nehemiah chapter nine.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Have you had this conversation before?

Child: “I love you.”

Parent: “I love you more.”

Child: “No, I love you more!”

Parent: “Impossible, I love you more!”

Sometimes these conversations occur after I have corrected my child’s behavior.

In chapter nine, we find the people are freshly aware of God’s laws. After they apologize to God, they turn their hearts to praising him. What follows is similar to reading a Father’s Day card listing the qualities of a great dad.

If you read Nehemiah 9:6, we find praise to God for his creation. The world, everything on it, and outside of it.

“And you preserve all of them.” (Neh 9:6b, ESV)

He is keeping everything going. To preserve is an action word. As another version reinforces, “You give life to everything.” (Neh 9:6b, NIV)

He is why the tide of the oceans ebb and flow.

The kiss of the morning sun upon your back is from God.

The beauty of nature reveals his creativity.

God’s creation sings out to him. We can too.

Lord,

We can feel far from you at times like these. Looking at your creation brings you closer into view. Thank you for the reminder of the scope of what you created and preserve. In your creation we have the abiding assurance you love us deeply. And yes, you do love us more.

What are you praising God for preserving? Let me know in the comments below.

Hope to see you back here tomorrow for another reason in this ‘Father’s Day’ card to praise God.

“Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Response to Fear

Have you been overwhelmed with questions about COVID-19? When will we return to normal? What will normal look like? So many are not allowed to work, how will this affect the economy? Will I get sick? Who will care for my family if I do? Will there be what I need at the store? Maybe your questions are different or similar. Some of us are still being asked to stay home. No matter where you are in the world, we are all affected by the new coronavirus.

I do not have answers but I know who does, God.

Walking through the pages of my bible the other day, I came across a familiar chapter tucked in the book of Nehemiah. Chapter nine depicts a celebration of rebuilding. At the start of the book, we meet Neheimah, overwhelmed with grief at receiving news of Jerusalem’s wall and gates being destroyed. (Chapter 1, verses 1-4) By praying to God, and submitting to his king, Nehemiah was allowed to begin rebuilding the wall.

In the rebuilding process, Nehemiah’s work and life were threatened several times. It was financially and politically impossible to rebuild the wall. If you are not familiar with the book of Nehemiah, maybe take this weekend to read it, or chapter nine.

This impossible task was completed because God cares, God has a plan, and he is sovereign! We, like Nehemiah, have hope in knowing God.

Let’s meet back here, Monday, as we look at God’s compassion and love for us in response to our fears.

Hope to see you here Monday!