Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 12, 2026

What Does God Have For Me To Carry?

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” I Peter 2:9

Often, it’s easy to skim through some of the more list-oriented portions of the Bible. But each part of the Bible has been given to us by God to reveal more of Himself, His good plans, and how He wants us to live. In Numbers 4, God gave Moses instructions for the Levite clans: the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merarites. These instructions included assigning what they must carry regarding the tent of meeting and most holy objects.

“The Kohathites will come and carry them…”Regarding the Gershonites: “You are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry….” And finally, the Merarites: “You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry” (See Numbers 4:15, 27, & 32.)

This passage is referring specifically to God’s instructions and expectations for the holy place He dwelled in while leading His people through the wilderness. Yet there is also an application for us today that can be drawn from this passage when considering the Bible as a whole, and it’s this: God has assigned each of us by name in this life the “items” we are to carry. We must each ask these questions: What does He have for me to carry? Am I doing it for His glory and by His strength and guidance? How am I displaying the holy dwelling place of God through my life?

Be encouraged today. God has an assignment specifically for you for what He’s asking you to carry. It may be through something hard in your life or something wonderful. Whatever it is, carry it well by His strength and guidance. Similar to the tabernacle of God in the wilderness way back in Numbers, if you’re a Christian, because of Jesus’ atonement, your life is a tent of His dwelling place, too. As you carry what He’s given you as your life’s responsibilities, know that you are carrying Him in the wilderness of this world to display His glory as an invitation for others to meet Him like you have.

“Lord, let us carry well what you’ve given each of us to display for your glory in these tents of our lives.”

For His Glory

Emily P. Meyer (www.Emilypmeyer.com)
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Hope, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 11, 2026

Where Is God When We Don’t Feel His Presence

“The mountains surround Jerusalem and the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.”   Psalm 125:2  CSB

As children of our Heavenly Father, we have all had times in the valleys of life when it seemed that our prayers weren’t rising or that God was ignoring us. Or maybe He was just busy with things more important than our requests, which often seem trifling compared to the world’s suffering. He has a big job, after all. So it’s easy to give up trying to reach Him, thinking He might have more time for us another day.

For those of us in a valley like that, the first thing to remember is James 4:8: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you….”  The fact is, we need to worship Him, be still before Him, and wait. This is not to be taken as a guaranteed system for demanding God’s attention. God does not answer at the snap of our fingers or respond to a magic formula for getting into His presence. He is the great I AM, above being manipulated. But he lovingly desires to be close to you. So wait on Him. Surrender to His timing. Humble your heart. Ask Him if there is any sin between you and Him.

As you wait, here are some verses of scripture that tell us where God is. I keep them by my bed and meditate on them for encouragement on the tough days:

Isaiah 48:17                  God leads us – He goes before us.

Isaiah 30:21                  He is to our right and left, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.”

Psalm 36:7                    As we are in the shadow of his wings, He is above us.

Deuteronomy 33:27       Underneath us are His everlasting arms.

I Corinthians 3:16          He is in us: you are God’s temple, and the Spirit of God lives in you.

Psalm 3:3                     But you, Lord, are a shield around me…

 

Joyfully, He is in front of us, to our right, to our left, above us, underneath us, in us, and around us. So when you wonder where God is – He fills you from the inside and surrounds you in every direction. You can’t possibly go where He is not. What a benefit of His grace! There is nothing worth more than that!

“Heavenly Father, we thank You for the promises in your Word that assure us that You are always with us. Help us to hear You, whether You speak in a still, small voice or as a mighty wind. We long to bask in Your presence and give You honor and glory.”

 For His Glory

Cherie Williams (www.cherharbridgewilliams.com)
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Hope

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 10, 2026

Standing on God’s Providence

 

“For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’…” Isaiah 46:9b-10

Life is hard. We live in a fallen world full of sinners and broken people. Sure, we who are followers of Christ are redeemed—but we still fight against our sinful flesh and thereby contribute to the damaging stuff of life. Then there’s the world system (culture) run by the god of this world, Satan. He hates God, and he hates you. And he knows his time is short, so this father of lies has ramped up his campaign against us all.

Now, I’m not a social media girl (thankfully, I avoid all those platforms). And I’m doing my best to disconnect from the growing madness in our country, although it’s a challenge to not see or unsee the relentless “news” reports. But the fact is, we don’t need media of any kind to recognize the truths of life’s trials, tragedies, trepidations, and terrors. A friend’s newborn in NICU. An aging parent with dementia. A neighbor’s body riddled with cancer. A brother at church without a job and about to lose his home. A sister struggling with infertility. The lonely young and the lonely old. Our lost loved ones. Our own physical pain or illness. Who needs CNN or FOX or X or Facebook to put life’s upheavals on blast?

As Christians, we unequivocally know that we’re in a spiritual battle at all times in this world. And we know with all certainty that we’re fighting from victory, because Jesus conquered sin and death—at least, I pray you know that! We probably even quote Genesis 50:20 and Romans 8:28 with much enthusiasm.

Yes, but. We can’t just ignore or deny the sorrow, suffering, sadness. Like David, we cry, “How long, Oh Lord?” We look up to the heavens with shouts of “Why?” and maybe even (kinda like Job), “I’m (They’re) righteous, holy, ‘good’ Christians, Lord! What did I (they) do to deserve this?” Our tears fall and anger rises.

Beloved, these are the very times to crawl up into the lap of God. Run into the Shelter of the Most High. Cling to the Rock. To give Jesus our heavy burden in exchange for His light yoke. And remember: God may not share with us His “why” anytime soon—but we can stand firm that He has one. And it’s always for His glory. Maybe He’ll give us insight to His purposes. Perhaps we’ll look back in a year or five to see it clearly. But maybe we won’t. As with Job, God may just want us to remember that He is God, and we are not.

But before you get all, “Good grief, Julianne, way to encourage,” let me finish…Sweet friend, God is Sovereign—in control over everything. Every cell, every star, every move of the enemy. Creation, though, isn’t just about the Sovereignty (power/control) of God, but His sweet Providence. According to John Piper’s definition, Providence is “wise and purposeful sovereignty.” Why the differentiation? Because God is good (Psalm 34:8; Psalm 27:13; Nahum 1:7; James 1:17). His power is always and only for His glory…and yes, ultimately, for our good—even if we don’t see it until we’re with Him in heaven.

Here’s a historical quote from the Heidelberg Catechism in 1563 that beautifully defines God’s Providence: “The almighty, everywhere present power of God, whereby, as it were, by His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth with all creatures and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things come not by chance, but by His Fatherly hand.”

“Father God, as Job answered You in his repentance, may I say with confident hope, “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” May I hold fast to Your Providence.”

 

For His Glory

 

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Hope, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 9, 2026

Joyful Release

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13b – 14 (ESV)

Don’t know about you but when all things Christmas are packed and put away, I move into declutter mode.  You got it – I love the feeling of clean but definitely don’t like the process. Yet once I get started it is much easier for me to keep going. So every weekend since Christmas, I’ve been shifting things from throw away, to keep or donate.

Letting go isn’t always easy, is it? We tend to be clingers, holding on tight to things that should have been discarded years ago. Our fave outfit that’s two sizes too small hanging in our closet forever. The kitchen gadget we forgot we had because it was hidden away in our cabinets – out of sight, out of mind. And should we even mention shoes, jewelry, purses, etc., simply taking up space. I think we all get the picture – we have a lot of stuff we fail to release.

A firm grip isn’t regulated to things sweet friends. If we’re not intentional, we can find ourselves holding tight to wounds from our past. We tend to carry grudges buried deep under the pretense of “we’re just fine.”  Yet somehow the residual effects of unresolved pain tends to rear its ugly head when we least expect it. Choosing to settle and keep ruminating the details – tight-fisted, gripping the pain. And what about all those attitudes we harbor because letting go means we need to resist the urge to retaliate?

The balance beam of letting go and keeping is always tricky. It’s a necessary sifting of our thoughts, words and actions. Aligning our hearts with God’s so we are reflectors of His image and not our own. Painstaking work, hard work – yet absolutely necessary. Unveiling hidden things we’ve buried for too long. Clearing out those parts of us that need to be discarded and wiped clean in His grace. Seeking a healing path for those wounds we’ve nursed forever.

It’s February and another year is unfolding rapidly. Will our 2026 resemble the clinging to of things that should have been released? We can gather up the courage with God’s help to let go of anything that hinders or distracts us from serving Him. What are we determined to hold onto that serves us well and glorifies our Father? A consistent, thriving relationship with God through His Word and prayer are essential nonnegotiables. Are there deep wounds we need to partner with someone to lead us to a path of healing? Admitting and working through our hard places positions us to steward our God stories in a way that honors Him.

Our loving God desires for us to walk in the freedom of His truth and grace. Chains released and new life birthed in His healing presence. New clarity as we remove those unnecessary things occupying our thoughts and taking up space. A renewed passion for clean hearts and minds totally devoted to God’s best for our lives. Letting go, releasing anything He brings to our attention. Clean never felt better and it always looks great on us, so let’s partner with God to do the work and seek His guidance.

“Father, teach us to loosen our grip and release to You those things that don’t serve us well. Help us to trust You to complete the hard work that needs to be done in us. Fill us with Your strength and help us to navigate release in a way that honors You.”

 

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Freedom, Spiritual Growth

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 6, 2026

Why Empty Never Serves Us Well

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence.”  2 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

When you’re planning to make your fave dessert no one wants to find an empty flour container.  Even worse is when you’re craving eggs for breakfast and upon opening the fridge you find an empty egg carton.   Disappointment quickly follows then frustration. Nothing satisfies when what we really want is gone.

Recovering from our hunger pains or passion for dessert will pass, but our attempts to navigate life on empty never serves us well.  We’ve all been there when rest was evasive and exhaustion was our close companion. Like an empty pitcher attempting to fill everyone’s glasses, we resort to relying on self and excuse what we really need.

Sound familiar?  It’s ever so easy to coast dependent on self because life’s too busy to recharge our souls.  Spiritual self-care gradually slides to the back burner for the sake of doing it all ourselves and figuring it out. Simply put – we’ve got this.  Not quite the way God planned for us to be filled.

Just like our physical bodies can’t exist without oxygen, our spiritual bodies can’t exist without God. Empty leaves little for us to truly give to self and others.  Best solution is to never land in the place of empty.  To consistently nurture our souls and lean into God’s wisdom positions us to navigate life with the overflow of His filling.  God isn’t looking for perfection; He’s looking for pursuit. If we seek Him, we will find Him.

Keeping it real here – what’s standing in the gap of our God filling?  What’s consuming our focus, time and energy?  Perhaps it’s time to evaluate how empty is working for us.  Remember healthy evaluation is not condemnation but information and awareness.  Asking God to remove our blinders and dependence on self opens us up to see what He already knows.

The most important relationship we will ever have is the one we have with our God.  When we read and study His word, our minds are enlightened to His truth and wisdom.  When we pull ourselves away from the chaos and noise to pray, we will experience the beauty of an intimate conversation like we’ve never  known before.  Starting our day with worship ignites our souls to the glory and wonder of the One who inspires, encourages and uplifts our focus from this world.  Memorizing and meditating on His words equips us for the battles we will face and brings to mind exactly what we need to say or do to encourage others.  Maintaining a short account of sin positions us for clarity, growth and influence.  Godly friendships and accountability is priceless.  If we genuinely want to flourish and nurture our souls, then we will welcome community.

Sweet friends, spiritual self-care isn’t optional; it’s essential. Prioritizing our relationship with God will completely fill us, and the overflow will impact the lives of those we love. Every deposit we make, every connection we maintain to Him will never result in empty.

“Father, You have birthed a deep desire within us to seek You, know You and walk in Your truth.  Nothing else ever truly satisfies like You.”  Thank You for overflowing us with Your goodness.”

 

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 5, 2026

Living In The Bowls

“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Revelation 5:8b (ESV)

The Book of Revelation is filled with wondrous and sometimes frightening imagery. In chapter 5, the Lamb, who is Jesus, had just taken a scroll from the Father’s right hand. As soon as He took it, the twenty-four elders fell down before Him, holding harps and bowls of incense. According to Revelation, the bowls of incense are the prayers of God’s people…us.

God has always loved incense. In the time of Moses, He gave a specific formula for the incense to be placed before the ark of the covenant, warning that this formula was forbidden to be used for any ordinary purpose. It was a holy incense with the stamp of God on it. (Exodus 30:34-38.) Mixing up this formula for personal use carried a heavy penalty: the guilty person was to be cut off from their people.

Aaron the priest was commanded to burn such incense on the altar every morning and again every evening, “a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.” (Exodus 30:8-9.) He was also commanded to burn no strange or unauthorized incense. Only that special incense was good enough.

A friend in my study group was touched by the idea of the incense of Revelation being the prayers of God’s people. ‘Touched’ isn’t even the right word. She was struck by it as if it were a bolt of lightning. When she talked about it, she was animated, and her eyes sparkled. “Just think,” she said. “When you pray, you are in the throne room of God.” After she let that sink in, she said, “I want to pray more because that’s what God wants. I want to be in those bowls.”

Yes, I want to be in those bowls, too. If God was so protective of the holy incense of the Old Testament, how much more will He value the precious incense that is the prayers of His people? So let’s pray without ceasing. Let’s go boldly to the throne of grace. Let’s fill the throne room with the sweet-smelling incense of our prayers.

“Lord God, we thank You for Your invitation to come boldly to the throne of grace. We thank You also for the imagery in the Book of Revelation that helps us understand Your nature and the way You receive our prayers as a sweet-smelling incense.”

For His Glory

Cherie Harbridge Williams (www.cherieharbridgewilliams.com)
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Prayer

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 4, 2026

White As Snow

“Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be white as snow.”  Isaiah 1:18

What a beautiful snowfall we have had here in Virginia! It was fun watching it come down and begin to change the outdoors into a winter wonderland. Everything looks new, clean, fresh and shiny. It is lovely to look at (through the windows!) and amazing how a few hours can change the landscape to pure beauty.

Of course, eventually the trucks will come through and scrape it. It will warm up and turn brown and black and get piled up and will not be so pretty. But for now, we will pause and enjoy the beauty before reality hits.

This makes me think of the life of a new Believer in Christ. They come to a realization of their need for Him and an acceptance of His free gift of His blood to pay the heavy cost of their sin. It is a beautiful thing to be a part of and is not only life changing, but death changing. The landscape of their life is made new.

But time moves on and the realities of life hit. The heavy things of life come plowing through their snow white wonderland and things turn and are not as pretty as they were on the day of salvation.

This is to be expected. Jesus Christ changes our eternal destiny, but it is a process for lives to change. Romans 12:2 tells us, “ Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Transformation takes time. Just as a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly or a tadpole becomes a frog, a human being changing an entire life does not always happen overnight. We become a ‘new creature’ (2 Corinthians 5:17) “by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2)  The inward changes come before the outward changes.

How do we change the way we think? There are many ideas about this, but most have these two beliefs in common:  1) it is the people you meet, books you read, and things you watch that influence you the most and 2) every belief system needs to have an anchor to go back to  measure our thoughts against.  When the behavior and customs of the world arise, you are able to find a foundation in your anchor. This is one of the reasons it is so important to know scripture, study it and teach it to others. Our Anchor must be Jesus Christ.

This is why discipleship is so important. Most of our New Testament is directed toward teaching Believers how to grow in Christ and think differently than the world. This is to help us transform and be different, which takes time.

Let us be patient, kind and willing to walk alongside those who are in a different season with Jesus than we are. There is no one size fits all in Christianity-we serve a delightfully creative God and that is exemplified in the people He created more than anywhere.

Walk through the seasons, the beautiful snow, the ugly, and sometimes hard, that comes after, with our new brothers and sisters and continue to direct them to the anchor of Jesus.

“Father, help us to love others well no matter what season they are in. Please keep us anchored tightly  to You and Your Word.”

For His Glory

 

Terrie Tollerson
TRBC Women’s Ministry

 

 

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Gratitude, Hope

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 3, 2026

Those People

“And opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most truly comprehend now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the one who fears Him and does righteousness is welcome to Him….And all the circumcised believers who came with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.” Acts 10:34-35; 45 (LSB)

The Apostle Peter is so awesome, isn’t he? He goes from vehemently denying his acquaintance with Jesus to boldly proclaiming that Jesus is God and saving Messiah—at the risk (and result) of beatings, imprisonment, and ultimate martyrdom. But even at the start of the Church, Peter and the other Apostles focused on proclaiming the gospel only to the Jews, believing they were the only ones worthy of God’s salvation promise.

So, as the Lord was already pricking the hearts of non-Jews (aka, Gentiles), He needed to open the eyes of His church leaders. Which He did by giving Peter a rooftop vision and telling him, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” (Acts 10:15; 28). And when a prominent group of Gentiles wanted to hear from Peter, he confidently proclaimed, “I most certainty understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35)! Ah, but when the Jewish believers got wind of the Gentile’s salvation, Holy Spirit indwelling, and water baptism, they weren’t exactly thrilled—that is, until Peter shared his vision, God’s word to him, and the glorious transformation of “those people” (Acts 11:1-18). Peter set down the new standard, so to speak, by saying, “If God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” And when the group heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well, then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life” (vs. 17-18).

Today, we may read the response of those Jewish disciples, shake our heads, and think, “Well, duh, of course the gospel is for everyone! Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (in repentance and surrender through faith by grace) will be saved!” But let’s do a gut check, shall we? Is that what we really think? Do we hold out trepidation for “those people” who come to our church, whether in searching, salvation, or baptism? Are we holding a proverbial clipboard with a list of “acceptable for salvation” and a list of “doesn’t count for them”? How does your church family react when a woman walks through the doors straight from her job at the strip club because she was driving by and stopped in as a final grasp at hope? What about that tattooed-faced guy standing in the baptismal tub up front? Or that video testimony of the adulterous husband…drug-addled pastor’s son…imprisoned murderer? Do your church family members gasp and scoff in astonishment like the early Church Jews? Or do their cheers rival those of the angels in heaven? How about you?

Oh beloved, our attitude must be like the once-astonished believing Jews responded after Peter dropped some gospel facts on them: They GLORIFIED GOD and recognized that God grants new life to everyone HE (not you or I) chooses. There is no distinction other than lost and found, blind and seeing, dead and alive. We are all united IN CHRIST (Romans 10:9-13; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:9-11).

As followers of Jesus Christ, let’s remain in wide-eyed awe of God’s glory in His salvation for ALL who receive. No one is beyond God’s reach. There is no sin greater than the blood-bought grace of Jesus. Instead of looking behind “those people,” look ahead with them for expected transformation as a new creation in Christ. Replace that doubt with trust that God is doing something amazing. And celebrate with the angels.

“Lord, forgive me for any judgments I cast on others who proclaim their surrender to Jesus in salvation and baptism. Bring to my mind that I was once Your enemy—lost, blind, dead—but now alive in Christ. If I am within Your reach…anyone is.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Attitude, Love, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 2, 2026

When Pleasing God Looks Different

 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see…and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”  Hebrews 11:1; 6 (ESV)

We’ve been finishing up a study at church on Hebrews 11, and I’ve been diving deep into these verses over the past month. We’re  probably familiar with this Hall of Faith which includes many of our fave characters from the Bible. As I was studying this past week, I noticed something very interesting.

“By faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death; He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”  (Hebrews 11:5)

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” (Hebrews 11:7)

Enoch faithfully walked with God for over 300 years. Noah was a righteous, blameless man who walked with God and faithfully took Him at His word in total obedience to build the ark. Two men with two distinctly different paths, yet each one speaks loud of God’s great pleasure in our faithfulness to Him.

One was whisked away (Enoch) leaving his family and friends to wonder what happened to him. He simply was no more and couldn’t be found. I wonder if they searched endlessly for him, did they have a funeral, or just simply trusted God had taken him. Noah on the other hand wasn’t taken away, instead God kept him and his family here while taking the lives of everyone else who chose not to believe. I wonder if Noah questioned why God didn’t take him and his family away to heaven like Enoch, rather than leave them as the lone survivors in this world.

Great questions, right? It’s the proverbial questions we often ponder when it comes to God’s plan for our lives. Why do some suffer extensively while others exit from this world is quick and sudden? Why does success and ease seem to follow some while others face difficulties and challenges? Why do some get the glories of heaven while we who are still here are left to deal with the brokenness of our world?

Only our sovereign God knows the answers to all our probing questions. We serve and love a personal God who divinely orchestrates every day of our lives. No cookie cutter version will serve us well. God knows our individual faith story reveals what we are holding onto  and who we are anchored to. If it is self and this world, then we will crumble. If it’s God, then we will be steady and faithful regardless of the story He is writing.

So, as we venture through another day let’s consider where we need to be stretched in our faith. Perhaps it’s His stretching us to be conformed more and more to His image. Maybe it’s stretching us to take a leap of faith in obedience to what He has called us to do. Could it be He’s stretching us to trust Him more with daily challenges? Maybe He is stretching us in hard places so we might glorify His name through the trial. Wherever we land, let it be said of us that we walked with God faithfully and daily sought His face.

“Sweet Jesus thank you for the beauty of Hebrews 11 which details the account of so many faithful ones, not perfect ones, but those who walked with you throughout their lives. May we be women of God who You delight in and are pleased with.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Faith, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 30, 2026

Sweet Time Out

july 8

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”  Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)

“You’re in time out.”  Oh those words sting.  I remember them well when my son was a runaway toddler.  Age two – four seemed like a long stride, especially to this working mom.  So the miniature rocking chair in our kitchen was often filled by that sweet little boy.  He twisted, wiggled and resisted every minute of it, but eventually he grabbed the lesson.

Sound familiar?  As adults we don’t like time out either, but sometimes it’s the only way God can get our attention.  Being sidelined definitely positions us in God’s classroom, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we were being disobedient.  Sometimes God pulls us out of the chaos, noise and distractions so that He can speak into our lives uninterrupted.  Sometimes, He simply wants us to find rest for our tired souls – to climb up in His lap and seek refuge to avoid burnout.  Sometimes He re-focuses us for a greater work and that time out allows God to put everything into place for the next step. And yes, sometimes disobedience does land us in that chair – sidelined until repentance lifts us back up.

Regardless God intends for us to learn and grow.  Unfortunately, we too often twist, wiggle and resist every minute. We forego a temporary setback and plunge forward determined to do life our way.  And the end result – we will discover that time out will chase us until we surrender and grab the lesson.  “You’re in time out” may be the sweetest words we will ever hear.

“Father, help us to draw near to You even when doing so means letting everything else go.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Spiritual Growth

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