Silence is Golden

Silence. We often run from it; it’s uncomfortable. We tend to like noise and distractions.

For over a month now, I’ve been largely off of social media and news platforms. The noise was getting to be too much, and I felt a prick in my conscience to let it go.

Besides being freed up thought- and time-wise, I’ve come to appreciate silence. It actually is golden. It’s in the silence that the Lord has taught me and molded me; how grateful I am.

I’ve wrestled with my health. One issue in particular, that leaves me flat on the couch some days and has kept me from having the many children we’ve always desired. The pain is multifaceted. My tears always fall before the Lord - I know that He hears me. I still don’t have the answers to my whys and hows, but I am content. Finally. God saw fit to give me this body, knowing the challenges I’d face, and it is for His glory. I pray for healing, through His special touch or through doctors He equips. And if not, He is still good and will carry me through the rest of the years I have to manage it. With this perspective, I can genuinely thank Him for this body.

I’ve struggled to stay at peace this year. We dealt with a horrible accident that I wouldn’t wish on an enemy. Life and death flashed before our eyes. The day after that, a neighbor family lost their little boy. And not long after that, a friend lost his grown son in yet another horrible accident. This with all the regular news and verbal fistfights and pure hatred in our world… I couldn’t and can’t bear it all.

Yet that’s the point, and the Lord was gracious to show me that amidst our family’s trial. I couldn’t hold up under the weight of it. Peace was fleeting; I tried to hold on to it but it slipped through my fingers every time. In my desperation, I begged God to carry me. Take my burdens. Show me what He means when He says His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt. 11:30). And somehow… somehow He did. He showed Himself so strong to carry it all. All! He lifted my chin and reminded me that not one thing happens outside His good will. And at this point in my life, I know better than to question whether His will is good or not. I have seen over and over and over again how His ways are better than mine (Isaiah 55:9). He renewed my strength as I put my hope in Him (Isaiah 40:31). He helped me put one foot in front of the other when all I wanted to do was crumple into a heap. And as the days went on, He sustained me. There was no point along the way that I caved and lost all hope - no, He remained sufficient. He still remains sufficient.

Silence is golden.

As I look at the world and how broken my beloved country is, I still have hope. He sustains me even in this. Our world is not going to Hell in a handbasket. God has been revealing sin; He is exposing the darkness and bringing light to it. We shouldn’t be surprised when the light illuminates cobwebs and skeletons. Things get messy and we see evil. But then - He cleans and restores. People are finding that there is no fulfillment in things or other people; life without Jesus is empty. The harvest is plentiful - may the Lord raise up more workers!

Silence is golden. Friend, lessen the distractions - I promise you don’t really need them. What you need is Jesus Christ. Turn to Him, turn to Him, turn to Him. Just as He is teaching me, He can teach you. He can make sense of your life and trials. He can satisfy and keep you going. He is Lord of lords and King of kings. We have none to fear but Him!

Take your burdens and joyfully give them to the Lord to carry. Focus on the tasks He gives you, the people He puts before you, and give thanks. He is good, all the time. And all the time, He is good!

On Doing Good

“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’

So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.’”

Mark 10:17-18

Lately I’ve been thinking - what defines good for us? What standard do we use to measure good and bad?

In the conversation quoted above, Jesus is talking with a man who wants to get into Heaven. “Good Teacher, what must I do?” he asks. Jesus answers his question, but He starts by pointing out how the man addressed Him.

Good Teacher.

Jesus highlights a couple important things in His response. First, He draws the connection between Himself and God; they are the same Person. And second, He gives the standard of good: Himself.

He is the only One who is inherently good. He is the One who defines good; we don’t and can’t. But there is hope for us sinners - Jesus covers us with His righteousness, and gives us the ability to do good as well. Thank Him for that!

Since He is the true standard of good and bad, right and wrong, we need to model our lives after Him and what He does. You and I both know - we get to know Him and how He works through Scripture. We won’t be able to model our lives after Him if we aren’t faithfully in His Word! (And by now you know my favorite reading plan, the Bible Reading Challenge. Join us!)

In this time of turmoil and chaos, when things come to us disguised as “good” when in fact they are not - it’s important for us to know how to conduct ourselves. All things will be held accountable before the Lord someday; Heaven forbid we were lazy in learning how to be like our Savior.

Dig in, sisters. Surround yourself with Scripture, and pray that God would give you wisdom and clarity. He will honor that, and He will guide you!

For practical pointers, turn to Proverbs. Read it through a couple times, and keep in mind that a lot of what God teaches us there is contrary to how the world would have it. Use Scripture to interpret Scripture; that’s how God designed it.

As a way to test your progress, reflect on the fruit of the Spirit as evidenced in your life:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

Are you joyful despite the horrible news released each day? Do you have peace, knowing that God truly is in control? When your kids need to be corrected yet again, are you faithful to do it? Is there kindness in your words to your husband after a long day?

I ask myself these same questions, and they have to be revisited often as we grow. But the goal is maturity; we want to see progress. We want to be more like our Lord, to do good - as He defines it - in the time we have on this earth.

Christian, I’m routing and praying for you!

“As for God, His way is perfect;

The Word of the Lord is proven;

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”

Psalm 18:30

Our Desperate Need

My prayers have been scattered lately.

I don’t remember how long life has been quarantined, how many ebbs and flows this all has had. But I feel pulled with the tide. In, out. In, out.

As I tuck my kids in and watch the dog settle into sleep, I think all is well. It’s all going to be okay, normal life will come eventually.

Yet I know that’s not true. “Normal” as we knew it won’t be the same “normal” after this.

Lord, when will this end?

Lord, how can people treat each other this horribly?

Lord, what is Your will with all of this?

I find myself praying for simple things, like kind cashiers and enough toilet paper. And then there are deeper things; show me, Lord, how to be a faithful witness to You through all of this; protect my children from this hatred.

Humanity is lost. Every day news stories emerge that drop my jaw and sink my heart. And we are scrambling to make sense of it all, following click-bait and jumping to conclusions and trying to make everyone think like we do.

I watch and I am amazed - this global pandemic has brought out the worst in us. It has brought out so much hatred, so much selfishness. All the inner things of the heart…well, here they are on display.

It isn’t surprising though. Romans tells us, “…there is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12). All have sinned (3:23). And now, as things are tough for everyone, it all is coming out.

God is sanctifying me. I want to hide in fear; I want to give way to worry over my kids and their future, over the instability of life as I know it. I want to throw fists verbally, give quick responses to people who are wrong or rude to me and my kids. I want to sit everyone down and make it all stop. Yet none of these responses is glorifying to my Lord, and so He reminds me over and over again.

If He has convinced me of anything through this, it’s that the entire world needs the Gospel. There is no policy that will solve things, no government official that will bring perfection, no way of human reasoning that will make people change their evil deeds.

Do you see it too?

Only God can change hearts. Only He can take a sinner, like He did with myself, and make that sinner righteous by the blood of His Son. We can’t do it - we can’t make ourselves good. Only Jesus Christ can make good out of someone inherently evil. Only Jesus can save this world and make things right. How desperately we need Him.

Bringing others to think like we do, act like we do, talk like we do - it isn’t a worthy goal, even if we think we’re doing it after God’s will. The worthy goal is pointing people to Jesus Christ, pointing them to the Bible to be changed by the perfect, unchanging God.

I want to encourage you, sisters in Christ, to be in the Word daily. Read it consistently, let it change you. Go to it to be shaped more and more like your Lord. This is a beautiful thing. And may I challenge you… you have no time for other extracurricular things if you are not in His Word.

I’ve mentioned this particular reading plan before, and I am happily mentioning it again because it has been so fruitful in my life (and the lives of many other women). The Bible Reading Challenge is a wonderful plan to follow for reading through Scripture. We are about to start the summer plan; you can find all the info here. It is solely Scripture, no additives. Whether you jump in with this plan or follow something else, prioritize reading your Bible.

What the world needs most right now is Christians following Christ. I’m praying for you and rooting for you in your walk with Him!

- Amy

Peace - and the Coronavirus?

What a time to be alive! A virus has sent the entire world into a panic; I have been amazed at the reaction, and all the ups and downs already. Fear surrounds us, doesn’t it?

But I can’t help pointing out - what an opportunity to stand apart! With everyone panicking, it is extremely noticeable when someone is calm and full of peace. Not worried of the days to come. I’ve read from a few other Christians of how their faith in the Lord through this has caused others to pause, and realize there’s more than what we see here.

You may be in a family of people who are healthy and not very susceptible to dangers of a virus. Or you may have children with complications, children with medicine that’s now hard to attain, children with immune systems that a virus would wreak havoc on. This virus may not have many implications for you, or it may have implications that are overwhelming.

Friends, the truth remains for each of us.

God is still in control, and life and death are in HIS hands. He already knows. He already knows the outcome of this whole thing. He knows who will get sick, who won’t; who will pass away and who will stay here on Earth. Some of these realities are hard-hitting. Life is fragile, but we have a God who is not.

He is the keeper of souls - fear Him, not man nor virus.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:28-31

He also knows what will happen when all of this is behind us. And we can see now that many people’s hearts are turning to Him in their time of fear and desperation. What will happen after? Will we all be as Pharaoh, seeing His Lordship one minute and then hardening our hearts once the challenge is past?

May we remember His care as the Israelites experienced:

But He made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

Psalm 78:52-53

Christians, use the opportunities He puts in front of you! Do not let fear control you! Write this down, post it in your home, read it often:

But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hand

Psalm 31:14-15

Look around, and ask the Lord to show you how you can be a blessing.

Take groceries to the doorstep of elderly neighbors, maybe even leave a note so they don’t feel so alone.

Use your stockpile of toilet paper or baby wipes to bless others who can’t find any.

Tend to your children, be intentional with extra time you have together (with them and your husband!).

A friend of mine has offered for people to come visit the animals she and her family have; she’s even left hay out for kids to come enjoy the steers, ducks, and chickens. What a great example of taking what you have and using it to bless others!

Personally, the LORD saw fit to keep many copies of the Strength & Song magazine at my home - maybe for such a time as this. If you would like a copy, email me! I will be sending out much of what I have to those who ask, so that you or a friend may be comforted during this time.

Be encouraged, friends. God is still in control, and this time is so ripe for His glory to be shown!

Amy

“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.”

Psalm 36:5-7