worry - 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 to Love Christ and Not Our Cares

Are you struggling with worry today? It is hard to escape thoughts of concern in our personal lives and socially.

Come on over to Walking On Mustard Seeds today and see how to offload the care of your heart.

“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”
Psalm 94:19, ESV

Woman standing, looking over a large city, from a building's window view.

Who does not have concerns growing in their heart? There are too many issues to count in the world, not to mention our own lives. From Genesis to Revelation, God tells us to pray, not worry, and threads prayers and meditations throughout Scripture. Gifts to open our hearts to, allowing his view to penetrate, destroying our distress.

The above verse is a perfect meditation. We can look up the meaning of the words, examine other translations of the verse, and ask God for insight.

God, what am I overthinking?
God, what do I need to take my eyes off of right now?
God, show me all your consolations of the past. (Consolation means comfort in the face of misery.)

Meditating on Scripture draws out the fullest meaning God has for us. The promise of this 13-word verse is unmatched and a treasure to keep near.

Three treasures I found in this verse, plus a bonus.

First, our minds and bodies cannot thrive under the stress of worry and continual fear. The author penned they had many concerns. Can you relate? God wants to be at the helm of all our situations. Will you allow him to lead you?

God, through the Holy Spirit, can show us what to put our focus on and how to lovingly address each task and interaction.

Second, it clears up clutter in our minds to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts away from worry. The static of unruled thought steals our energy and takes our focus away from time with loved ones. The devil wants to steal our peace. Why? So we don’t trust and give God the glory in our situations. The Word tells us every situation can be turned to work out for God’s glory. We can be part of his amazing story when we seek wisdom in each situation from the Holy Spirit, Christ’s gift to us.

When we live this way it makes all of our concerns fall into the background.

Third, it improves relationships with family, friends, and neighbors. A lot of our worries are outside of our control. I can’t control how others drive on the road but I can control my attitude behind the wheel of my car. We can be fully present with our kids, grandkids, spouse, friends, and neighbors when not being controlled by consuming thoughts.

We have the most impact on those we love and are to minister to when freed from worry.

Bonus

Lastly, with our daily cares put in God’s capable hands, we can take care of details with a clear conscience. When we are truly free to be about the business of God, loving others as he would have us love them is loving Christ.

Encore

This leads us to his consolation; joy in exchange for grinding of mental gears. We waste valuable time when our thoughts are not aligned with God’s. Once we reflect on the Word and see the benefits, cheer becomes our companion.

Yes, the scripture says cheer leaving us wanting to burst out with shouts of joy.

Picture your hockey or football team. Do the fans sit idle the entire game? No! They shout and jump when their team is doing great things. Why shouldn’t we when God can silence fear?

Let’s give God a shout today!

YouTube News:

A little more about turning our thoughts to God. Also, let’s prepare the way for the release of my devotional Two or Three For Our City. Thank you for praying over Delaware with me!

Signature line, Keep Waling on Mustard Seeds, Michele

P.S. Update on Two or Three For Our City is with my editor for edits. Devotional Coming Soon!

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),

Three Keys to Peace

God gave me one prayer … simple, basic, and profound.

“Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11, NLT)

Over-exposure ruins a photo as does overdevelopment. I took photography my senior year of high school when developing film was taught in the class. There was a simple wooden, four-walled structure to step inside to develop the film I shot for class assignments. I learned quickly, that this was not a gifting I had, leaving my images overdeveloped. I soaked them too long in the developer and the photos I took would never be revealed as darkness plagued the photo paper. You see, if you overdevelop, the crispness and clarity become blurred and darkened.

Like God calling me to pray over the City my family once lived in, I came up wordless due to the daily tragedies from crime that were reported. Inviting others to pray with me, cleared the picture of what to pray about and how to communicate the prayer.

Fast forward to modern America and the view became blurry again as confusion hit the streets, anger bursting forth in public gatherings and dinner tables. Again, I had blurred vision for prayer.

God gave me one prayer this time and I have prayed it ever since. It is simple, basic, and profound.

Pray for the truth to come out.

No clarifiers. No favorites. No affiliations. Across the board and across the nation, let the truth come to light.

You are to walk free from blurred confusion, it is time to come out of the developer and walk on what truth brings:

Peace within – Alignment with God’s ways always strengthens peace in the inner man.

Peace without – Truth brings sure-footedness in our interactions with others.

Peace Shared – When you practice this prayer at every angle, every affront, every thought, you can encourage others to pray in that same manner. Just as I hope I have encouraged you.

Will you pray with me?

God, I pray that truth be exposed in my City and Nation. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your turn:

What area of your life or community will you pray for the truth to be exposed?

News:

Sign up on my site, to receive the latest news on my Spring 2024 Book Release. A devotional designed to pray for your City.

Keep Walking on Mustard Seeds,

Michele Marie Weisman

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Are You Guaranteed a Reward for Praying For Your City? And Updates!

Do you want to see change locally–pray with me over your City, and see God change some things.

And–you never know when your City has a wonderful surprise for you, like my attending our local 4th of July parade in Belton, Texas.

Today’s blog post falls in line with the spirit of my devotional designed to pray for your City. I am grateful for any prayers for the writing process. Thank you!

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way…” (3 John, 1:2a AMPC)

When your grocery cart emptied of its items and bagged, does your jaw drop at the total on the register?

And your gas tank is taking a whole lot more money to fill up. Are you taking fewer trips out because of the higher cost of gas?

There is scripture instructing us to not be shocked by things we see or hear. How are you doing with non-shock? I have told myself to stop gasping out loud, but I still hear an inner groan.

The news does not help the concern as they report that Americans have less in their savings and are using their credit cards more.

Financial stress on a family can create a feeling of isolation and worry, which leads to tension.

Do your neighbors feel isolated by their financial worries too? I bet some of them do.

There is a story in the bible, of a man who reestablished his outcome by praying for others, specifically his friends.

Mini Bible Story

Job was a man who loved and lived for God and lost everything, except for his wife and a few friends. His money, children, and livestock–gone–and he developed a terrible skin condition that tortured him.

This all came into Job’s life as a gift from the devil. Satan thought he could get Job to reject God, but his plan did not work. In fact, it backfired!

God restored him, and people find that fascinating, actually giving him back more than he originally had.

But, this is NOT the best part of the story.

Main Point

God did end up giving Job a ‘God size’ lecture. God had some correcting to do in Job’s heart. But at the end of the lecture, God gave Job one task to do.

Job, was instructed to pray for his friends, the ones who rushed to his side to comfort him in his great loss. Their attempt to help Job was overshadowed by misrepresenting God’s view and care for Job in this painful time. Theirs was such an error in judgment that God required sacrifices from them.

Ouch! Can you see their pride burning up in their chests?

Job was restored times two after he prayed for them.

Bottom Line

Prayer is not a frivolous, last-ditch effort. Nore is it a groundless proposal for a serious situation.

We honor God when we pray, turning to Him to solve what only He can. Praying for someone in your City, at the next gas pump, or behind you in line at Walmart, that their finances be blessed and their burden lightened, honors God.

That is it — P R A Y for them. It is a simple act of obedience void of pride.

What About You?

God has answers to prayers for you too, but first, what prayers does your neighbor need? If you don’t pray for them, what will the loss be for your community?

I am not saying or implying that you, or they, will receive Job’s fortune after you pray. How God blesses you is up to Him. He always deposits peace, joy, love, or grace, with prayer.

Is that enough–or better yet–isn’t that what is really needed to combat daily stressors?

Who in your City is coming to mind that you can pray for?

Father, You do want to provide a way for each person in my City to prosper. As prices rise, I am focused on my own struggle, but people all around me have similar concerns. Bless everyone that I pass on the road or in the store. Bless their day with financial wisdom and sound sleep tonight. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Some News

Does this float photo say everything that needs to be said about prayer? I have seen this group on the weekends at different events with a booth set up ready to pray for anyone who asks. They were a beautiful sight as Greg and I were in line at our local 4th of July parade. By the way, the large flag says, “Jesus is King”. A needed reminder.

Greg and author Michele, wearing cowboy hats and red, white, and blue, on the float. — Greg and I at Belton’s 4th of July parade.

You’re a Beautiful Messterpiece, by Deana Farrell

Have you ever been over the moon about a book?

There are few titles that make me feel like it was written by a friend who wants me to succeed at by biggest dream. Deana Farrell brings a unique voice to the conversation of getting your “God-given dreams” in motion. Perfection is NOT the goal. This VAL (me)–you have to read at least the back cover copy to find out what a VAL is, is starting to see that my ‘mess’ is part of the story and not to be shunned. Check out Deana Farrell here to find out about her new book!

Invited Guest

I was honored to be asked by a fellow writer and ministry-minded friend to start writing a monthly prayer for her ministry’s newsletter.

Naomi Fata resides in New York and is the author of, Beyond Head Knowledge: Knowing Christ Who Satisfies Our Hearts. She also writes God’s Corner for her local newspaper.

To read more about her ministry and sign up for her encouraging ministry email, go to Christian Resource Ministry.

Keep Walking on Mustard Seeds,

Michele Marie Weisman

PS Walking on Mustard Seeds can be sent directly to your inbox!

AMPC link is to lockman.org

Photos were by Greg and Michele Weisman

God Upholds Us

Glad to see you back again. Grab your bible and open to Nehemiah 9:7-8.

“You have kept your promise because you are righteous.” (‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭9:8‬b, NIV‬‬)

Entering college after high school, I am embarrassed to say it took me twice as long to earn my degree as it should have. Many times I felt lost on my college path. With an undiagnosed learning disability and my desire to finish, eventually I earned my degree. Completing the requirements for my major, the college upheld their promise of a degree upon completion of units and courses.

God’s promise to Abraham, found in Genesis chapter seventeen, is contingent upon God wanting Abraham to choose God’s ways, always. For Abraham’s heart to be devoted to him.

Abraham was walking toward something greater than a degree. He was walking toward his legacy. Did Abraham make some questionable decisions along the way? Yes. But he moved forward in faith because of God’s promise.

He promises to never leave us. To watch over us. To go before us. To light our path. To be at our back. To love us forever and ever.

Because he is faithful and righteous.

Lord,

During this uncertain time of sheltering at home and some areas opening up, we can gather hope from you. You are with us right now. You offer peace and joy to our souls. Nothing stops your love for us. You care deeply for our hearts that are full of worry. Thank you for being a loving Father who seeks to comfort us. Let us seek your comfort today.

How is God comforting you during this pandemic? Please share in the comment section.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®