Have you seen Frozen 2? It’s a favorite at our house. We’ve watched it countless times. I enjoy it just as much as my kids do. There’s a really sad part in the movie, though, when Elsa freezes and Olaf slowly begins to melt. Anna is left by herself. She cries, then rises to her feet slowly and sings a song entitled, “The Next Right Thing.” The first time I heard it, it wasn’t really my favorite. But it’s kind of grown on me.
Disney Theology
I don’t usually take my theology from movies, especially a Disney cartoon, but that song has stuck with me because the principle is pretty good. I have found myself even using it on my kids during homeschool.
Sometimes we get stuck in life. We feel battered and confused, frustrated and weary. It can paralyze us from moving forward. We get stuck because we don’t know what to do next.
Choose to do the Next Right Thing
When I wake up feeling this way, it’s the worst feeling. I hate that feeling of discouragement and hopelessness, when you feel like the only thing to do is just stay in the bed for the day. It’s on those days that this principle comes to mind and helps me to move forward. I drag my body out of bed and just keep telling myself to do the next right thing.
So, first thing in the morning, it’s getting out of bed and going downstairs. Then it’s making coffee. After that, I head to the table to start my morning time routine. Sometimes that’s enough, and I’m off for the day. Other times, I have to just keep telling myself all day to do the next right thing.
Once I get started, I can feel God guiding and directing me. He keeps me from falling and helps me get through another day.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
Psalm 37:23,24 KJV
Keep Going Until You’re Back on Your Feet
If you’re feeling stuck today and don’t know how to move forward, I feel your pain. Instead of focusing on everything that’s falling apart around you or the fear of what’s to come, simply focus on doing the next right thing. Keep doing that for as long as you need to until you’re back on your feet. Every day won’t be like today. Don’t focus on tomorrow or the day after that. Simply focus on doing the next right thing at this moment. Eventually, you will find solid ground beneath you and the ability to be able to move forward once again.
My parents flew in from Colorado to visit us in Pennsylvania for a few days, so we took them to the beach for the day. We played in the sand for a while, splashed in the water, and searched for the best seashells.
My parents with Macey, Maggie, and Madison
When we were ready to go and I started packing up and grabbing all our belongings, I saw a heart drawn in the sand with the word mom and a smiley face. I stopped for a minute and stared down at it. I wasn’t even sure which of my children created it. One of them had drawn it without saying a word to me and then went on their way.
For some reason, that little heart with the word mom in it and a smiley face stopped me in my tracks. It caught my attention like nothing else could have in that moment. The child who made it didn’t come over and tell me they loved me, they simply created an expression of what they felt. I felt so loved in that moment. Yet, it made me stop and wonder… Did that child feel that same love in return from me or was I too busy for them?
Living In the Moment
I get so busy with life. Every day, I have more on my to-do list than I can possibly accomplish for the day. The days run together and life just seems to fly by. I feel like sometimes life passes me by in the blink of an eye, and I miss so much. Then I see a simple heart in the sand with the word mom in it, and it slows me down.
It made me stop and think and ask myself some tough quesions. Am I living in the moment? Am I enjoying this time with my family, or am I just trying to get through it and move on to the next thing? Am I paying attention to those around me? Am I giving my family members the love and attention they need? The heart was just a simple reminder for me to live in the moment, to love the people that are in my life.
A Quiet Whisper
God has a funny way of getting our attention sometimes. I’m reminded of the verses in I Kings when God gets Elijah’s attention. It’s not how Elijah thought it would happen.
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
I Kings 19:11,12 KJV
God wasn’t in the hurricane, the earthquake, or the fire. God’s voice came to Elijah in the form of a quiet whisper.
Missing My Heart in the Sand
Often, I look for God in the big moments of life, when something incredible happens or when there’s a storm rocking my world. Those are the times that I’m not worried about missing God. I know He’s going to show up, and I know I’m going to see it.
What I do worry about missing, though, are the times God shows up in a quiet whisper like He did for me at the beach. God used a heart drawn in the sand with a simple message to catch my attention, to remind to focus on what’s important, to live in the moment. Life is passing me by too quickly. My kids are going to be grown and gone in the blink of an eye. I don’t want to look back on the years I had with them in regret because I was too busy to focus on what was important. I want to focus on Living the Life I Have, Not the One I Want.
I left the beach that day with a renewed vision to live in the moment. I don’t want to miss out on memories, meaningful conversations, and chances to speak love into my children’s lives simply because I was to busy to do so.
Book Recommendation
If you are a mom with kids still at home and this topic resonates with you, you would enjoy Hands-Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford. She teaches us how to “live a present, authentic, and intentional life despite a world full of distractions.”
Is your faith strong enough to stand on? We think we have faith until everything falls apart around us; then we really see how much faith we really have.
When My World Came Crashing Down
A little over two years ago, my faith was tested, and it surprised me how weak my faith really was. I’ve always considered myself to have a lot of faith, but sometimes being tested is a true sign of where you are at.
Over the course of just a few months, we lost several giving families in our church. For a small church plant, that was devastating. I remember Matt’s face when he told me that we wouldn’t be able to make payroll that month. I just stared at him.
“What does that mean?” I asked, totally surprised, even though I knew exactly what it meant.
“It means we don’t get paid,” he said before leaving the room.
I sat there for a few minutes, then prayed. “God, we really need you to come through for us. Please provide for us.” I left the table and moved about my day, confident that God would come through for us. He had come through for us so many times in the past, why would this time be any different? Little did I know, God wouldn’t come through for us that month. Nor would He the month after that and the month after that.
Going From Bad to Worse
The next several months brought all kinds of mayhem with it. I watched as our carefully planned life and ministry came crashing down around us. Things went from bad to worse, and I had no idea how to fix it. My faith was stretched so much, I thought I was going to lose it altogether.
Weeks stretched into months, the bills piled up, the credit card maxed out, and we were in serious trouble. Talks of shutting the church down took place. Through it all, I felt like my head was spinning. I couldn’t wrap myself around the fact that God wasn’t providing. Where was He? My family was in the middle of a huge financial crisis, and He was nowhere to be found. I didn’t have the kind of faith that could keep trusting When God Doesn’t Meet My Need. This was all brand new to me, and I could literally feel my faith slipping away.
This past year and a half rocked my faith. It’s only now that I can look back with just a little clarity, and I’ve realized something about my faith. My faith was weak. I thought it was strong, but it wasn’t. I had what I call a one-to-one faith with God when it came to provision. When I had a need, I prayed; and God would answer. Prayer… answer. He didn’t always answer right away, but He always came through. I understood about things such as illnesses and loss and other requests that God may never answer. But God providing for us? That was easy.
My faith had always worked for me in the past. Now, I was in unchartered waters. This was entirely new. I had never dealt with God not providing. God was taking my faith deeper, and it was painful. This new faith required me to trust God, even when He didn’t provide. This was a much deeper faith. Now it was affecting my kids.
God was saying, “Amanda, will you choose to trust me even when I don’t pay your bills on time? Will you believe that I am good, even when it doesn’t seem like it?” That’s real faith! Easy faith is when you ask for help, and God provides. It takes deep faith when you ask God to provide, and He doesn’t.
The Hidden Pain: When You Feel God is No Longer Blessing Your Life
A New Kind of Faith
I had to learn this new kind of faith. Honestly, I didn’t think my faith would make it through that testing. I believe God let me come to the absolute end of myself to show me what my faith really looked like.
In the book of Mark, Jesus taught His followers about different kinds of seeds that fall to the ground and why some grow and others don’t. I think we can make a direct correlation to our faith.
4 Kinds of Faith
1. A Dissipating Faith
The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.
Mark 4:14,15 MSG
This first kind of faith is over before it’s even really started. This person’s faith dissipates before they ever start their journey of faith.
2. An Emotional Faith
And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
Mark 4:16, 17 MSG
This kind of faith touches a little closer to home. This is the kind of faith that is strong, passionate, and ready to conquer the world. That is until a trial comes. This faith is built on emotions. “If I feel good about my faith, I will stand strong. If I don’t feel it and can’t see it, my faith begins to waver.”
3. A Fearful Faith
“The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.
Mark 4:18,19 MSG
The what if’s of life stop this kind of faith from moving forward. This faith stops growing when fear settles in. “I really want to follow God, but what if it costs more than I’m willing to pay? What if it’s holding me back from where I need to be in life?” That kind of faith eventually fizzles out.
4. A Durable Faith
But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”
Mark 4:20 MSG
This is the kind of faith I want to have. I want to have the kind of faith that says, “Okay, God, no matter what happens, I’m all in.” God rewards that kind of faith, allowing us to produce a harvest beyond our wildest dreams.
Faith Check-up
It’s a good time to do a check-up on our faith as we head towards the end of this crazy year of 2020. This year has rocked even the strongest of faith. Some have stood strong, while others have crumbled.
If you’re still standing strong, I want to link arms with you, come alongside you and stand with you. Keep standing. Keep getting up early to spend time with God. Keep doing what it is God has called you to do. Start or stick with a morning time routine.
If your faith has crumbled, it’s time to stand back up, brush the dirt off, and move forward. Faith is not about never failing, never falling, it’s about Getting Back Up After Falling. I want to link arms with you and help you stand strong once again.
My six-year-old, Maggie, has the tenacity of a bull. She gets something in her mind and goes after it with a singular focus that’s enough to weaken even the strongest adult. She’s worn me down more times than I can count, and I consider myself a fairly strong person. More than once, she’s gotten me to give in on something I really wasn’t planning to, much to my regret.
Consequently, my kids have realized her strength over the years, and more than once have sent her to be the negotiator to Matt and me when they want something.
Maggie’s the one on the right.
The Tenacity of the Blind Men
I was reading in the book of Matthew this week in my morning time. I read a familiar story that made me think of my Maggie. It’s the story of two blind men who ask Jesus to heal them.
As Jesus was passing through an area, two blind men cry out to him. The crowd that is following Jesus looks at them with disdain and tries to quiet them. That wasn’t enough to stop these men. I wonder if they made a pact together ahead of time.
“Listen, when Jesus passes here, we’re going to get one shot at this. We have to get Jesus’ attention, no matter what it takes. It’s going to take both of us. We can’t give up, no matter what happens.”
When Jesus passes by, both men begin to call out, trying to get Jesus’ attention. The crowd tries to hush them, but that just makes them call out even louder. By this point, they are being obnoxious, causing a scene. But do they care? Nope. They cry out louder, “Master, have mercy on us.”
Jesus Hears Them
When Jesus stops and turns in their direction, I can picture the crowd pausing, holding its breath, waiting to see what is going to happen. The crowd parts and Jesus comes to stand before the two men.
Can you imagine what the two men are feeling now? They probably looked at each other in shock, like, “It really worked. He stopped.”
Jesus’ Response to Them
Jesus asks them, “What do you want from me?”
The two men don’t hesitate; they don’t think twice. They answer quickly and confidently. “We want to see.” These men knew what they wanted and went after it.
Don’t miss Jesus’ response to their request.
Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and they joined the procession. Matthew 20:34 MSG
Jesus was moved by their faith and their boldness so much that He stopped what He was doing to respond to them. Clearly, their tenacity worked.
Jesus’ Humanity
Sometimes when we read the Bible, we miss the humanity of Jesus. Though He was fully God, He was also fully human. He understood feelings and emotions, and He was affected by them. It’s hard to balance Jesus’ sovereignty and deity with His humanity.
I wonder… would Jesus have stopped to heal them if they hadn’t called out? Would He have kept walking even after He heard them call out if they hadn’t increased their volume? I’m not sure. All I know is that two men believed Jesus could work on their behalf and they weren’t going to stop until He did.
How often do we approach Jesus this way? I wonder how many of our prayers don’t get answered because we don’t call out with absolute faith and tenacity, holding on to Jesus until we get an answer. This is what I call wrestling with God.
Wrestling with God
What does it mean to wrestle with God? Here is an excerpt from my book, The Hidden Pain:
What does it mean to wrestle with God? What does it feel like? It’s hard to describe. The only way to describe it is that I have spent many hours on my knees begging God for His blessing. I’ve cried many, many tears asking God why He won’t help things to work out in my life. I’ve questioned His goodness. I’ve wrestled with trusting Him. I have written countless prayers and cries to God in my journal. I have asked, pleaded, argued, and questioned God so often. I feel that after several years of begging God and pleading with Him for His blessing and not feeling like I have gained it, I just want to wrestle with Him more. I feel like I can begin to understand why Jacob wrestled with the angel all night long and wouldn’t let him go until the angel blessed him…
Are you in the same place? Can we encourage each other to hold on and keep wrestling? Jacob wrestled during the night until the morning light finally broke through. My morning hasn’t broken through yet. It’s still dark. I can’t see, but I can feel Jesus’ arms around me, and I am grabbing on to those arms and not letting go until He blesses me.
The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God Is No Longer Blessing Your Life
I think that wrestling with God is equivalent to what the two blind men did. They wouldn’t let Jesus pass until He heard them and answered them. After that, it was just a matter of telling Jesus what they wanted.
Wrestling with God in Your Own Life
What do you need to wrestle with God for in your life right now? What burden are you carrying that you are begging for an answer to? Maybe it’s a financial burden, a health concern, a difficult child, the loss of a friendship, a deep hurt… I don’t know what it is, but I know Someone who does.
Maybe it’s time for us to drop to our knees and call out to God. Maybe it’s time to reach out and get a hold of God and not let go until He answers. We need to develop the kind of tenacity these blind men had. We have to decide that it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks. It doesn’t matter how anybody else responds to us. All that matters is getting Jesus’ attention.
That’s the kind of faith that moves Jesus. Jesus put it this way.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Matthew 7:7 KJV
Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. Matthew 7:7 MSG
When we want God to work more than we care about how we look or sound to others, that’s when we will know we are developing the tenacity to wrestle with God.
Thanks so much for entering my fall giveaway and welcome to Faithfully Stepping! If you are new around here, you can find out more about me and why I started Faithfully Stepping HERE.
This is a place of encouragement for the person whose life doesn’t look anything like they thought it would. Life has fallen apart around them, and they have been left to pick up the pieces. My passion is to help that person. I send out a weekly email every Friday with encouragement to help you keep faithfully stepping into what God has for you.
Here are some of my most popular posts to get you started:
One of the reasons for my fall giveaway is that I am super passionate about developing a morning time routine. My mornings set the stage for my entire day. A good morning equals a good day. My morning time routine includes prayer, Bible reading, journaling, and morning tasks. Read Creating a Morning Time Routine You Love and My Best Tips for an Effective Morning Time to help you get started.
Resources in the Fall Giveaway
You can find all of the resources in the giveaway on Amazon or click the links below:
Matt and I spent some time talking with a friend this week. We listened while she talked. She shared some frustrations, then broke down into tears. She poured out her heart with all that was burdening her.
One of the things Matt said to her during our conversation was this. “What we’re going through right now is unprecedented. Give yourself some grace to get through this.” We said a few more things and then went our separate ways.
I thought about that conversation this week and about the dozens of other similar conversations we have had. One thing Matt and I keep coming back to as we talk to different people is that this is a difficult time. There is no getting around that.
The Changes
I think it’s easy to forget what a big deal this Covid business has been. Because we are back at work, back to doing life somewhat normally, we forget how much it’s really affecting us. That is, until something happens and it reminds us how different life is right now.
Consider this: the Olympics was canceled this year. The Olympics Games have only ever been canceled in history due to world war. The Olympics was canceled in 1916 for World War I and again in 1940 and 1944 for World War II. That’s a pretty big deal!
Covid has changed so much in our everyday lives. In all my years of attending church, we never canceled church except for an isolated snow storm here or there. Then churches close down for months at a time. Overnight, moms had to become home school teachers. Kids who have been schooled their entire lives are suddenly stuck at home, trying to navigate their schooling online. Jobs changed, incomes changed, grocery shopping changed.
So much has changed in the past few months. Yet we forget that and don’t give ourselves the grace we need to get through what we’re dealing with right now; then we’re shocked when everything falls apart around us.
Now is Not the Time
I’m sure you’ve seen as I have, people’s lives fall apart during these past six months. We’ve watched as public figures, good Christian leaders, have blown it big time. Some have decided to get a divorce from their spouse. Other leaders have said or done stupid things, and their ministries have fallen apart because of it.
We need to be reminded of this- now is not the time. Now is not the time to get divorced from your spouse. Now is not the time to make a major life change. Instead, it’s time to dig deep and find God’s strength and grace to be the stabilizing force in your family’s life and in others’ lives around you. How can we find the stability we need?
Six Ways to Find Stability
1. Spend time every morning finding grace and strength from God’s Word and through prayer.
I do this through my morning time routine of Bible reading, prayer, and journaling. I use my Faithfully Stepping Journal for this. We can only find the stability we need by staying close to God during this time. It’s when we get far away from Him that we can’t make sense of things around us. That’s when Satan can step in and convince us to do something we never thought we would.
Faithfully Stepping Journal
Matt and I just released He Still Calms Storms, a thirty-day devotional. If you’ve been struggling with what to read in your Bible each day, the answer may be this devotional. Each day includes a story to read to inspire you, Scriptures to study to guide you, and questions for self-reflection to help you.
New Release Devotional
2. Spend time reading good, uplifting books or listening to encouraging podcasts.
Check out my book and podcast suggestions here. Spending time being filled with thoughts about God and good will get our focus off our circumstances and keep us grounded.
3. When it gets too crazy, take a break.
Take a vacation day, go away for a few days by yourself or with your family. Do what you need to take the time off now before things escalate into something more serious. Even just a day or two away can bring clarity and perspective. It’s when we just keep plowing ahead that we can really get off and make some bad decisions.
4. Talk to somebody who’s further down the road than you.
Find someone that can speak wisdom into your life and tell you truthfully what you need to hear. Sometimes we need an honest, outside perspective to help us get back on track.
5. Use release writing to get what’s in your heart down on paper.
Release writing is the process of writing down everything that is in your heart concerning a particular situation. It can be an event, a hurt, whatever it is that has you unraveling at the moment. Write down everything that is in your heart- the confusion, the pain, the fear, the failure, the frustration, whatever it is. Get everything that is in your head down on paper. Only then can you begin to truly work through what it is you’re going through. Once you can see it all on paper, you can begin to pray about it specifically, find verses to help, and books to read. You can also then be able to talk to someone about what you’re going through and have a better grip on being able to explain it.
6. Seek out professional help or counseling.
If you are really struggling, one of the best things you can do is get help. Find a Christian counselor who can help you to understand what you’re going through and be able to walk that path with you. There are things in life that you may go through that you simply can’t get through by yourself. That’s what a counselor is for. They can give you the help you need to get back on track.
Now is not the time to make a life-changing decision. Right now is the time to focus on finding the stability and grounding we need to be able to stay faithful to God and our families and to be able to help bring stability to those around us.
