Nothing is Hidden

Grandma's House

It was 1983.

I sat in the back row, considering my options. The door was a few short feet away; no one would notice. 

I was 16. This was band class.

Home life was hard, but whose isn't, right?

The following year, I moved in with my grandmother. I changed schools my senior year of high school, tossed any hope of medical school for the peace and isolation of country life in the little-known town of Alaska, Michigan.

This town was so small that there weren't any corner stores for at least a mile. But there was a beautiful little park I loved to visit. The best part of moving to this side of the state was that my grandma didn't get out to church much anymore, and she lived too far from hers to have anyone bother me about visiting.

Alaska, MI

What I never anticipated was the day that she would feel well enough to venture out. My aunt woke me and asked whether I would go with them to church.

And of course, no one says "No" to Grandma. 😁

A second, more life-changing surprise occurred at the end of that service. The God I'd been giving the silent treatment to met me in the back seat of the sanctuary. 

He not only met me there, but he also showed me that he saw every hidden and dark wound I carried.

He saw it all.

Right or wrong. Good or bad. He knew. And yet, He still met me in that seat, calming, healing, arms open, inviting me to welcome Him into my life.

How could a perfect God love me like that?

Fast forward to now.

I have spent the past decades learning that there is only one thing I love more than my family.

The presence of God in my life.

This isn't the first time He's shown up for someone in need.

Alaska, MI

When Abraham and Sarah struggled with infertility, she told him to take her Egyptian slave, Hagar, and have a child through her. Later, when Hagar realized she was pregnant, she treated Sarah with disdain. Sarah blamed Abraham, then, with his permission, she treated Hagar harshly until she fled.

So Abram said to Sarai, "Indeed, your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence (Genesis 16:6 NKJV).

In the wilderness, Hagar was visited by an Angel of the LORD who told her she would have a son, and also showed her to a stream of water (Genesis 16: 7). 

Her response?

Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the_God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?" Therefore, the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ... (Genesis 16:13-14a NKJV).

She realized with Whom she had communicated, and was comforted that He saw her. 

It's been 42 years since that day in the back row. I have seen trauma, loved ones have fought cancer, and ended their battle when called home to heaven. 

But it's not the big events that trip us up, is it? When my daughter was born needing major surgery at 24-hrs old, I knew I could trust the God who formed her at conception. She was (and still is) His idea. He'll take care of her. When my husband lay in the ICU near death, I could hear the Lord clearly speaking to my heart that He was with me.

But it's the little things. Those moments that seem insignificant in the beginning, I have also navigated the much smaller trials. As a teenager, I lived in a home with a leaky roof. We would place our pots on the floor around the living room to catch the raindrops. Initially, we heard the ping-ping of each drip. Eventually, though, that ping-ping sounded more like a plop. One drop didn't amount to anything, but as the drops collected in the one pot, we would soon pour enough down the drain that could've been boiled for macaroni & cheese dinner.

North Carolina Outer Banks 2025

And this is how the little things build. One drip at a time until gallons have gathered into one place. 

These events can do one of two things:

1. Slosh over and create a mess.

2. Be diverted to water the grass.

It's in how we choose to focus. It's in whether we will clean the lens of our vision and see that God is still with us even in the drizzling, annoying, life-hindering rain and that He has a clearer understanding of where we are headed than we do.

He is with us. He sees our struggles. He is there when we triumph. 

Recently, I have been reminded of this. He saw me in the back row, considering whether anyone would notice.

And He sees you too.

Nothing has escaped His notice, and He always "helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified" (Romans 8:26-29 ESV). 

North Carolina Outer Banks 2023

So take heart, my friend. The Lord has not abandoned or forgotten you. He is very much involved, weaving together the most beautiful story of our lives. Our job is to trust Him.

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength (Isaiah 26:3-4 NKJV).

Until next time, lean into His strength and faithfulness. He'll never fail.

Blessings, 💜 Karlene J  💜

Weapons of War: Truth vs Discouragement and Fear

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life 

(Proverbs 13:12 NKJV).

Satan knows his best chance to get us separated from God is to get us to accuse Him and turn our backs.

Forfeit.

This is not a new thing; we can see it evidenced in the way the Israelite nation reacted in Deuteronomy 1:

And I have said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.'

Then all of you came near me and said, 'Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.'

The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, 'It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.'

Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. And you murmured in your tents and said, 'Because the LORD hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us' (Deuteronomy 1:20-27 ESV).

Sound familiar?

The Lord speaks a promise to our hearts, we read Scripture and see truth in print--promises of provision, protection, healing, acceptance--and yet whispers of doubt and accusation taunt us morning to night, day after day. It wears us down as we wait, sometimes feeling like eternity will pass before the promise is fulfilled.

Have you ever felt the nudge to throw in the towel and accept that the dream/promise was never from God in the first place?

The Israelites had waited 400+ years to be delivered from Egypt. Every year they remained in the land, they experienced both greater oppression and greater provision and protection. Then, when deliverance came, they grumbled at every turn that felt uncertain. They accused Moses. They accused God. They stated more than once, "It would've been better if we were back in Egypt" (Exodus 14:10-12).

Now, to give them a little grace on my part, they'd spent 400+ years in captivity. Initially, it was a great place to be. Jacob's son, Joseph, was taken into captivity due to his brothers' jealousy and scheming. The Lord prospered him and elevated him to second only to Pharaoh in the land.

We, however, have different captors. Their names may be illness, job loss, infertility, bankruptcy, murder, addiction, abuse, rejection ...  Our exodus may look different from theirs, but the temptation to compare our lives now to "back in the day" is waiting like giants in the land. We can see the promise over the wall, down the valley, or around the corner--but it seems to always be just out of reach.

And this is when the twelve spies return with their reports. Ten acknowledge that the land "It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us" (Deuteronomy 1:25).

They refused to move forward, and ultimately, the entire generation died in the wilderness.

If this doesn't rattle our souls, we need to listen to the Lord's warning in Isaiah:

If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established (Isaiah 7:9b).

And again in James:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:5-8).

This battle will not end until every word of prophecy of God's word is fulfilled and the devil and his angels are in the lake of fire forever.

The world would love to help us fight off these temptations to fear and worry, give up, or give in. Some would say to think positive thoughts, manifest your dreams, visualize your victory, or whatever it is that elevates us to the place where temptation rises for us to view victory as our own doing.

Instead, we need to cover ourselves with the full armor of God. For temptation and discouragement, fear, or disillusionment, the Belt of Truth is our protective gear. 

Belt of Truth: Courtesy Google Images

Pictured to the right is a soldier with his armor. The belt is not only around his waist. Leather straps hang down the front of his suit to protect him to the knees--keeping all vulnerable parts of his person protected.

God's truth is the only truth that will protect any vulnerability we may have. Satan knows where we are vulnerable but he cannot penetrate an arsenal of truth blocking his attack.

Lexicon of Psychology 

Crosswalk: Belt of Truth: Armor of God and How to Use It

Until next time, stand in faith, taking the Lord at His word. 

 💜 Karlene J 💜

Weapons of War

Fear and Discouragement: Courtesy Google Images

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

~ Ephesians 6:12 ESV ~

As children of God, I believe we know in the depths of our souls that our security is found in Him. But as we continue to navigate life as finite beings, I think we forget (I know I do) that the struggles we face, the tragedies we endure, or the setbacks we fight to overcome are part of a much larger-scale battle, unseen to our human eyes, but real nonetheless.

This battle isn't to be taken lightly, but also not something to be afraid of.

You see, since before the beginning of time, a war has been ongoing. Only one side will come out victorious. We get to choose which side we want to align ourselves with.

I will say, the winning side is God. Creator of the Universe. The One who breathed life into our very being. There's no doubt in my mind.

So why, if God is so mighty, does this battle go on so long? Why doesn't He just end it right now? (Maybe I am the only one who's wondered?)

After reading through Job, I have come to realize it doesn't matter why God allows anything to happen. I may never know the answers, but I can trust that His ways are more effective than I could ever attempt to imagine. And He invites us to participate in His plan, follow His lead, and trust. 

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You,

because he trusts in You.

~ Isaiah 26:3 NKJV ~

The problem with trust, however, is that we have to take our hands off the thing that we want His intervention in. If we truly want Him to move in that area, we have to let Him do so in His time, His way.

This is hard.

This past week, I was reminded of a Scripture spoken over me when I was 18-years old, graduating high school:

But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

~ Isaiah 40:31 NKJV ~

It's in the waiting that our trust is tested, isn't it? Especially when we don't know the outcome. Maybe it'll be all that we'd hoped or imagined it would be. Maybe it'll look nothing like we'd imagined.

It'll be better.

I have a friend who was a pastor. He spent his years giving to anyone who had need. His wife once told me how they'd spent months saving for a new sofa, and just when they were almost able to walk into a store and pick their sofa, the couple sensed the Lord ask them to give that money to someone else who needed it. In obedience, they gave it. And a sofa better than the one they were looking at was given to them.

This same pastor drove cars that he could pay cash for. He couldn't justify purchasing something new when he could drive a perfectly dependable "beater". Then one day, he was encouraged to see what leasing a vehicle for his wife would cost. In the process, he was given a deal that put him into a pickup truck he never imagined or hoped for. It was everything he'd wished for ... and more.

He'd learned contentment through the waiting.

It would be a disservice if we weren't warned of the trenches in warfare we will walk through while we wait.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

~ Proverbs 13:12 NKJV ~

It's important to understand that the devil, our enemy, is seeking to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10). He is smart enough to know that attacking us in our areas of strength will reap no reward for him.

He is also in the waiting. Watching. Taking notes. And he can see the areas that are weakening due to either fatigue or doubt. These spots are like holes in our fence where he can gain access and do with us as he did with Eve in the garden. He plays mind games, questioning God's faithfulness in such a way, with enough truth-mixed-with-lies that we don't immediately recognize the deception or that we're being injected with a deadly virus.

I have found seven weapons Satan likes to use against us:

1. Deception: The Art of Twisting the Truth
2. Temptation: Luring into Sin
3. Accusation: The Voice of Shame and Condemnation
4. Division: Sowing Discord and Disunity
5. Fear and Discouragement: Paralyzing the Heart
6. Pride: The Subtle Trap of Self-Exaltation
7. Distraction: Pulling Hearts Away from God

(retrieved from Bible Analysis)

We also have a prescription for protection against these fiery darts:

1. Belt of Truth
2. Breastplate of Righteousness
3. Shoes for feet: the readiness given by the gospel of peace
4. Shield of Faith
5. Helmet of Salvation
6. Sword of the Spirit
7. Prayer

(Ephesians 6:10-19)

Over the next few weeks, I will break each one down and discuss them, as well as the truth we need to break off the chains that would weigh us down.

We are always under attack from the enemy. We will always be targeted by the enemy for as long as there is breath in our lungs. We need to understand that we are not powerless.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

~ II Corinthians 10:3-6 NKJV ~

If your wait-time has been long, and you feel weary, please allow me to tell you this: it's normal as a human. As children of God, we have this hope, that Jesus cares for us and wants us to allow Him to carry our burdens.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

~ Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV ~

Until next time--and beyond--find rest for your soul in Christ Jesus.

💜 Karlene J 💜