The Path of my Life

I have several verses that I consider my “life verses.” One of them comes to mind today: “You have made known to me the path of life” (Psalm 16:11). I’m looking at the path of my life and remembering this day 5 years ago, my first day at work at The Baptist College of Florida. It was not just a job, but my dream job – where my two passions – Jesus and learning – come together. But getting here wasn’t easy. The preceding months had been so hard, with devastating twists. Job loss and health struggles were God’s tools directing us back home. God literally opened the door to this house, just a few miles from what would be the best job I’ve ever had.

It seemed so chaotic at the time, but I see His hand all over it now.

When I widen my scope out a bit I see that Theology degree I got at seminary – the one I was told had no practical purpose to it – was one of the things on my resume that drew the Dean’s attention. My job involves working with the Theology Division. And the fact that I did it all online was another plus, as the school’s online students are now more than 50% of their enrollment.

I look again and I see that a season of loving and ministering to college students gave me yet another point of connection.  And thirty years of serving in Church administration gave me the skills and experience that are a good fit for this position. I could go back even farther and I’m sure I will find His hand more and more. God has been at work my whole life to bring me here. And He’s not through yet.

All these things seemed unrelated in the long journey of my life. But God saw them all as means to a purpose. As training for His plan. The same is true for you Beloved. Your life has not been a haphazard series of experiences, of jobs, of school, of people. God has had a plan and everything – every single thing – has been working toward His goal. Even the hard things. Especially the hard things. Ask Joseph. Ask Ruth. Ask David. Ask me. Those twists and turns are God moving you into His good, pleasing, and perfect will. He loves you. You can trust Him, Beloved. Your life is coming together just as He planned.

J is for Joy

“The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with Joy” (Psalm 126:3).

What great things has God done for you?  Have you thought about His “showers of blessings” lately?  When my heart becomes a little bit sour or I am sad and weary, I sit down with paper and pencil and go through my ABCs. No, not the alphabet, but the ABCs of gratitude. It’s a great exercise for the mind and heart, although it does get challenging around Q and X and Z. Here’s a sample:

A – Air conditioning (I do live in the deep South and it is the dog days of summer). And Advent – that Jesus came and will come again.

B – The Bible – God’s Holy Word – my passion and calling. And The Baptist College of Florida where I’m blessed to work.

C – Coffee (do I hear an Amen?).  And Christ my Savior. The church – both the Universal Church and my Christian family at Rehobeth Baptist Church. And fresh clean sheets on the bed.

D – Donald, my sweet husband of 34 years. And deliverance from sin and death.

E – Eternal life. Endurance – especially now that I’m in grad school. And education. And elephants (Roll Tide!)

F – Family and Friends – the greatest treasures this side of heaven! And fried chicken. And the faithfulness of God. And Forgiveness.

G – God’s amazing grace. And my granddaughter, Joy. And the Gospel.

I won’t go through the whole alphabet, but I think you get my point.  One sure way to find Joy when you’re running low is to “count your many blessings,” because Joy and gratitude are two sides of the same coin. I don’t have to get all the way to the last letter to see God’s good hand in and over my life.

Maybe this year has been filled with heartache, grief, disappointment, or struggle. Mine has too.  These certainly make it difficult to be thankful and Joyful.  Still, I have no doubt that somewhere between A and Z there are blessings you can grab onto to restore Joy to your heart. If you woke up this morning, you already have at least one: L is for the gift of life.

The Bible continually calls us to remember and rejoice in God our Savior. Do you need to reflect on the great things that God has done for you? Beloved, maybe it’s time to go back to school and practice your ABCs.  J is for Joy.

Somebody is Listening

I am wearing an old green t-shirt this morning that Joy always liked. It reminds me of the days when she was learning colors and she would always point out that “Nana’s shirt is green.” She was so proud of herself for it, and of course, so was I. God has been nudging me about the example I am before her. For instance, the image that accompanies this devotional. Before covid, I taught a weekly Bible study for the women on the campus where I work. My daughter-in-law would come and of course, Joy came with us. She was just starting to cruise and would move from person to person around the chairs that kept her corralled. She stopped at my knee that morning and was listening intently to me teach.  Her mommy snapped the picture and it serves as a constant reminder that she always is watching me and learning from me – whether I am intentionally teaching her or not. That’s a huge responsibility, one I don’t take lightly.

The Lord pressed that point home to the Israelites when Moses taught them God’s Law and how important their daily lives were. He told them: “The [these words] to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deut 11:19). In other words, in everything you do all throughout your day, be a walking, talking, living, breathing testimony to the Lord God.

What happens when we don’t? When the Jews returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity and resettled the city, Nehemiah discovered that “half of their children spoke . . . the languages of other people and did not know how to speak the language of Judah” (Neh 13:24). Sound familiar? And I’m not talking about linguistics – I’m talking about the language of truth, righteousness, and holiness. The language of God. The children didn’t know the language of Judah because the generations before them fell into speaking the languages around them so that they might fit in. Again – sound familiar?

This is not just a parenting/grandparenting message. The same applies to the church’s influence – or lack thereof – on the culture. We cannot represent Christ to the world if we sound just like them. Everything about us should speak Jesus. Because, like Joy, someone is watching and listening – whether you realize it or not. Beloved, what are they seeing and hearing in you?

Real Words for Real Life

Yesterday I wrote about controlling our thoughts. I want to take you through how I apply exactly what I’ve been telling you. Whether it’s temptation or discouragement, the battleground for the believer is the mind. The enemy works on our thoughts, interjecting lies and accusations and enticement. You and I need to know how to fight this battle according to the Word of God.

I have been slogging my way through graduate school for the past four years. The last course I took has been a bear, not so much for the material or the assignments, but for my life. I have a lot of heavy responsibilities pulling on me every day and my schoolwork always gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list. I’m still trying to finish the last assignment from last semester. The enemy is planting thoughts such as: “What’s the point of going to school? You’re a woman in the Baptist denomination – they won’t let you do anything with all that education.” “You just need to quit and focus on being a grandmother.” “Wouldn’t you like to make pretty ruffled dresses instead of pounding out assignments?”

My weary mind takes the suggestions and starts to think, “Yeah, I’m tired of all this studying. What am I doing this for? It’ll never get me anywhere.” And then I realize, I’m playing right into the devil’s hands. I have to follow Paul’s directive and “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). I reject these discouraging thoughts. Then I remember Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

The Spirit asked, “What is true here?”

What’s true is that God called me to this. Psalm 139:6 is marked with the date of my first day of college: 5/31/13. What’s true is that I can’t see God’s plan, but I know He has one (Jer. 29:11). What’s true is that God always finishes what He starts (Phil 1:6). What’s true is that He called me, is equipping me, and will use me (2 Tim 3:14). What’s true is that He turned my life upside down to get me to a place where I could get a Master’s degree for free as a staff member at BCF.

Satan can’t stand up under all that truth, and neither can my feelings of discouragement. The Bible is a practical book full of real-life wisdom. Beloved, grab onto the Word and use it.