Help My Unbelief

By Janet Morris Grimes-

I know myself well. So much so that it bothers me at times. I am well aware of my weaknesses. I spend more time with my flaws than I’d like to. And some days, I’d give anything to just snap my fingers and be rid of them forever.

Maybe you have felt this way.

But I have learned this much. My imperfections are magnified with each day I spend focusing on them. Anxieties, insecurities, guilt, regrets. The more power I hand over to these things, they more they take over my life.

I wonder what would happen if I got over my shortcomings and embraced the more abundant life God intended for me. I wonder if the reason I feel so alone is because God created me to be unique, and I will never be fulfilled until I am fully following His, and only His, plan for my life. I wonder what would happen if I took such massive leaps of faith that I have no choice but to let God carry me the rest of the way. I wonder if all along, He was just waiting for me to leap. I wonder if the only weapon Satan has left to use against me is myself.

Yes, I wonder.

What if I did the opposite of what comes naturally to me, each and every day? What if I got out of the way, recognizing that the less there is of me, the more of Him others can see? What if God is able to use these weaknesses to touch the lives of others? What if my weaknesses only serve as a spotlight to God’s strengths?

What if, by not believing in myself, I am actually saying to God that I don’t think He can do it? Can He really use me, in spite of myself?

There is a story in Mark Chapter 9 about a man who brought his demon-possessed son to see Jesus. He begs Jesus, in verse 22, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

If he can? Jesus challenges in verse 23, “If…? Everything is possible for those who believe.”

The heartbroken father answers in a painfully honest way, a way in which most of us can relate.

“I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

That is my prayer for each of us, that God will recognize our unbelief and strengthen us. We do believe. We want to. We hate the doubts, the regrets, the times we forgot to leap. Help our unbelief, and use us to touch a broken world.

Bumper Bowling

By Susan Dollyhigh –

Bumper Bowling is like a bumper life. I watched as my granddaughter, Katelyn, rolled the pink bowling ball around in the carousel until her five-year-old fingers found the holes to slide into. She picked up the six-pound ball and in a wobbly run made her way to the foul line where she came to an abrupt stop. Swinging her small upper body around to the right, she brought the ball up with both hands and heaved it down the bowling lane. Thump. Thump. Thump. The ball dribbled out of control before making contact with the lane where it swirled from the right gutter to the left gutter and once more to the right before reaching the pins and slowly knocking over all ten. With a celebratory jump, Katelyn smiled, “Yes, a strike.” Katelyn was Bumper Bowling, a game for children, which meant her ball was protected from falling into the gutters by pads positioned on each side of the bowling lane.

Marital problems, health issues and financial concerns had left me feeling like a bowling ball dropped and thumped from one crisis to the next before swirling out of control, rolling into the gutter and landing in a pit. Faced with so many difficult decisions, I didn’t know what to pray for, so I prayed as David did in Psalm 25:4, “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths.” If I could get out of the pit and onto the Lord’s path, I would find the hope and peace promised in God’s Word. Remembering Katelyn’s Bumper Bowling, I asked the Lord to place bumpers so I couldn’t veer from His path. “Lord,” I prayed, “I want to go Bumper Bowling.”

Susan Shelton Dollyhigh is a freelance writer, columnist and speaker. Susan is a contributing author in Spirit and Heart: A Devotional Journey, Faith and Finances: In God We Trust and The Ultimate Christian Living. Susan’s articles and devotionals have appeared in Connection Magazine, Exemplify Magazine, Mustard Seed Ministry, P31 Woman, The Upper Room and The Secret Place. She is also a contributing online writer for ChristianDevotions.us and InternetCafeDevotions.com.

Waiting for Ephesians 3:20

By Dianne E. Butts –

Last month I told you about the short film I’d be making in February for the “168 Film Project” contest. As I write this, I can’t really report on that whole story because it is still in progress, so I’ll leave that for next month. This month, let me tell you a little of what’s been going through my mind during this whole exciting crazy adventure of faith.

I wonder if you’re like me. I like to plan. I like to know what’s happening. I like to figure things out in advance and then work the plan. But this whole act of faith thing, making a movie in a week adventure, hasn’t been like that exactly.

Yes, we’ve been making lots of plans. Yes, we’ve been working hard to get things in place so when the time comes for the camera to roll, we’ll be ready. But there is a ton that we can’t plan for.

We can’t write the story or script until we get our assigned Bible verse. So we can’t really know what we’re going to need. So we can’t get everything figured out. So I’m feeling a little crazy about it all.

This is where faith enters, right?

But my mind asks, Will God work everything out? Will He bring people to the fund-raiser dinner? Will that dinner make enough money to pull off this project? Will we be able to write a decent story? Will we find actors? What about props, make up, hair? I think we still need a gaffer. (Now, tell me again what a gaffer is?) What about…

Wait a minute. What happened to my faith walk? This is me, trying to do it all, trying to plan it all. But this is a faith walk, right? God will come through. I know He will.

Do you get like that? I do. When we can view the big picture from afar, we can say, “Sure. I know God will show up. He’ll work everything out. No need to worry.” But when we’re sitting in the middle of the chaos, and we need the funds, and we need the people, and we need so much and we can’t see where anything we need is going to come from…we feel a little panicky and wonder if God will really come through with everything we think we need.

If there’s one thing I’ve heard loud and clear from the good people at the “168 Film Project,” it is to trust that God will show up! He is in this project and we get to be amazed at what He will do for us as we pursue making a short film in a short time with a short budget based on His Word.

Based on His Word. How can you go wrong with that?

So as I lie awake at night wondering if anybody is going to show up at the fundraiser (Please, Lord. At least enough to pay for the spaghetti!), I remind myself over and over that this is what it’s like to live waiting for Ephesians 3:20:

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV).

Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…When we’re waiting on Ephesians 3:20, that’s what we’re waiting to witness. It will happen. God has promised.

“…to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:21).

May we each live this month expecting God to show up in Ephesians 3:20 ways!

Dianne is the author of the new book, Deliver Me: Hope, Help, & Healing through True Stories of Unplanned Pregnancy (www.DeliverMeBook.com) and an aspiring screenwriter. Her script, A Cowboy’s Faith, was inspired by a true story in her Deliver Me book and was a finalist in the 168 Project’s “Write of Passage” 2010 contest. (Currently a producer is talking with Dianne about making her script into a short film!) When she’s not writing, she enjoys riding her motorcycle with her husband, Hal, and gardening with her cat, P.C. in Colorado. www.DianneEButts.com

When Prayers Seem To Fail

By Warren Mueller –

Have you ever felt like you are talking to yourself when you pray or that your prayers don’t seem to go any further than your ceiling? What causes this? There are several reasons. First is the belief that the quality of our prayers depend on how we feel about them. When we are hopeful and optimistic, we tend to think better of ourselves and that God is listening. When we are depressed or worried, we are more likely to become frustrated, give up or wonder where God is.  However, the Bible says that we are to pray without ceasing which means that God expects us to pray whether we feel like it or not (1 Thessalonians 5:17). God is ever present and unchanging so he is not influenced by how we feel.

God may not answer our prayers because they are not in accord with his will and plans. Isaiah 55:8-9 says that God’s thoughts are not like those of mankind nor are his ways like those of man, but rather just as the heavens are higher than the earth so are God’s thoughts, view and ways beyond ours. Therefore, God may choose not to answer our prayers or he may answer them in ways that are different than what we prayed.

God may not answer our prayers because we are holding onto sinful ways. Psalm 66:18-19 says that when we cherish or hold onto sin God will not listen to our prayers. When we choose to hold onto sin, we rebel against God and evil rules in this part of our lives. Therefore, we must confess our sins and forsake them if we expect God to listen to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7:14; 1 John 1:9).

Sometimes God says yes, but the answer is delayed or slow in coming. One possible reason for this is that God wants to teach us to trust in him and learn dependence upon him so he can direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Finally, we need to remember that spiritual warfare is raging throughout this world. Satan and his demons are inciting rebellion and exerting their will. They do this through evil temptations of this world such as the pride of life which is excessive focus on getting more and better things or money. Also, evil can ensnare us through the pursuit of power and influence at the expense of relationships as well as through the weaknesses of our human nature such as selfishness, lust, greed and envy.

Daniel fasted and prayed for twenty-four days before he received an answer to his prayers (Daniel 10: 2-6). An angel appeared to him on the twenty-fourth day and told Daniel that, from the first day that he prayed, the angel was sent from God with the answers. However, the angel was held up by a demon called the prince of the Persian kingdom. This angel could not get through until help arrived in the form of the angel Michael, presumably because Daniel continued to persist in prayer (Daniel 10:12-14). This is challenging and encouraging because it shows the importance of persisting in prayer until answers are realized. How many times have we stopped praying because we have not seen any results? I wonder how many angels are stuck battling opposing demons because we do not persist in prayer.

Lord Jesus forgive us when we give up praying because it seems like you are not listening or answering. Help us to trust that you have heard our prayers and do respond to them. Help us to persist with humble dependence and hope in our prayers until your angels deliver your answers.

The Next Step

By Heather Arbuckle –

It is a story that began when I was just six years old. Angry about a perceived injustice handed down by my mother, I packed my bags and decided life would be better at Grandma’s house. Walking briskly down our long dirt lane, I quickly reached the point where the rubber hit the road. The driveway, stretching a quarter mile behind me, was at its end. A two lane highway now lay before me and I didn’t have the faintest idea which way to step next. Looking one way, then the other, the anger in my heart faded to regret, then on to desperation all in the span of a few minutes. As I sat on my suitcase, sobbing big salty tears, I cried out for my mom. Moments later, she parked beside me in her car and waited. Never letting me out of her sight, my mom had watched me from her kitchen window and was ready to bring me home. Without a word, she opened the heavy door and I stepped into the car. My trek to Grandma’s house was over and we were on our way back home.

That was the first of many journeys my mother and I have taken together. She has comforted me in my heartbreaks. Counseled me through tough decisions. Encouraged me in my trials. And held me accountable in my rebellion. Many times, my mother and I have been on opposite sides of the fence. Yet, she has never let me wander too far from her side. When I stumble, she is there to help me stand. And when I cannot find my way, my mother is there to guide me as no other can, this side of Heaven.

Years have passed and I have stepped out of childhood. Now, I too, am a mother. With children as strong-willed as their mama, we encounter many challenges in our journey together. In this season of my life, I see my mother differently. Through trial and error, I have learned the road of motherhood is sometimes difficult and lonely. I now appreciate her wisdom and strength more than ever. Filled with gratitude, I remember well what she taught me. First, Mom is just a phone call away. Second, some things just require time and a little faith. Finally, and most important, I never walk alone.

Furthermore, In the pilgrimage of life, I have found a faithful guide in Christ. A child of God, I am assured, “When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble” (Proverbs 4:12). The eyes of my Heavenly Father see my every move. Because of the LORD’s work in my life, I am free to step boldly in faith.

Sometimes, however, I miss those days when I could depend on the daily instruction of my mom. Today was one of those days. A bit discouraged, I meandered for a bit through the aisles of a local store. Taking a little time away from the numerous responsibilities awaiting me at home, I wondered what my mom might say.

Then, I saw a sign that spoke directly to my heart, and made me think of her. It simply said, “Faith. Start where you are. Take the next step.” Filled with uncertainty, my steps appear hidden. Bowing my head in prayer, I give a sigh of relief. I understand. There is no need to fret, for “my steps are determined by the LORD” (Proverbs 20:24 NIV). But I have my mom on speed dial…just in case.

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