My husband and I served in pastoral ministry for thirty-three years.  There were certainly difficult times, but we regularly reminded ourselves that we were called by God.  Remembering why we were doing what we were doing was key to not throwing in the towel at times.    On more than one occasion I told God, “I quit!”  

It was a Sunday morning, and the building was full.  I was the worship leader and Gaylon was the preacher.  Before the service started, I walked around a very full building, greeting those who had come to worship that day.  As I approached a woman to say good morning to her, she asked if she could speak to me privately.  I only had a minute, but I obliged her request. 

“Lisa” began to tell me what was on her heart.   She said to me, “I need your forgiveness.”  My mind began to race because I did not know there was an issue between us.   “Lisa” continued, “I pay tithes to this church, and when I see the nice clothes you wear, I resent it.  It’s like I am paying for the clothes you wear.  I have a hard time making ends meet and yet you have nice clothes, a nice home, and a good husband.   Forgive me for my attitude, please.” 

I was shaken, and truthfully, I wanted to give her a piece of my mind.  Almost instantly I sensed God speaking to me, “Remember why you are here.  Did you come to worship and bring others into my presence, or did you come to argue with a woman?”

As I walked towards the platform to lead worship that day, every step was difficult.  I was a bit shaken!  I was upset! I had to push through hurt feelings and another believer to take my place as a servant of God.  I thought, “How can I possibly lead this service today?”  I felt tears were about to spill onto my face.  I kept taking steps to fulfill the call of God on my life that day.   As I walked to the front of that church, step by step I walked in divine purpose.

I stepped up to the microphone and began that worship service like all others – with a voice of praise to the One who deserves it.  As I began to worship and the people began to worship, God’s Spirit did a mighty thing in me and in that building on that day.   It was a memorable service that I can still recall many years later.

Many have walked away from God because it got hard, or people hurt them.  On a human level that is so understandable.  However, I say to you what I felt God said to me that Sunday morning, “Remember why you are here.”   Remember the Savior who died to forgive you.  Remember the God who loves you.  Remember the One who has changed your life.  Remember why you are here. 

(Just a little word of advice – if you are thinking bad thoughts about someone and you need to unload it, unload it at the foot of the cross.   Ask God’s forgiveness and invite His healing.   Do not dump it on someone else!  SELAH)

Too often we allow people to steal the freedom God has given us.  On that Sunday morning, I could have let it be about “Lisa” and what she said to me, or I could let it be about God’s purpose for my life.    Dear child of God, you are His.  He saved you on purpose and for purpose.  Don’t let anyone or anything persuade you from that!  Press through to Him! Remember why you started.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” – Colossians 3:17

When I got married in 1971, I was truly one of those who had never boiled water!  I had zero experience cooking.   When it came to the kitchen, I did not know what I was doing! 

My husband and I both came from homes where our mothers were fantastic southern cooks.  I will always remember my mother’s fried apple turnovers, tomato-vegetable soup, and cornbread dressing, all made from scratch.  Gaylon’s mother was one of the best bakers on the planet – caramel cake, pound cake, pecan pie, red velvet cake, multi-layered chocolate cake.  My boys to this day still talk about Grandma Benton’s fried chicken. 

As a wedding gift, I was given a cookbook which was compiled of recipes from the women of First Assembly of God in Ashford, AL.  Many of those women were married to farmers and cooked wonderful food from fresh ingredients.   That cookbook is my most-cherished cookbook, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  As you can see from the picture, it has been used quite a bit in the past forty-nine years.   I have learned when I need help, just go to the book.

Though I am older now, I still find that life presents me with challenges, and I do not know what to do.  I often do not have a clear path in a situation, or sometimes I am simply sorrowful in spirit as I look around.  When I need help in life, I go to another book that I have cherished for more than fifty years – the Holy Bible, God’s Word. 

Like so many others, I have felt the pressure of the year 2020.  It has been a year like I have never experienced – COVID lockdown, ugly politics, riots, watching friends go through great difficulty.  It has been tough!  I have worshiped and I have prayed.  One thing I have found that has helped me most is the Word of God. 

Since I was unable to travel in ministry, I chose to teach several books of the Bible online.   It is amazing how relevant Philippians, Ruth, and 1 and 2 Peter showed themselves to be in this present time.   My soul began to grow as my online “students”, and I fed ourselves with the Word of God.  

My heart goes out to so many who are in such difficult circumstances.  My advice is to open His word, and if you can, do it with friends.  You are certainly welcome to join my online studies, and there are many more online studies from which to choose.  Open God’s Word!  Open it on days when you feel like opening it, and on days you do not feel like opening it.  Read it, read it slowly and dwell on the life-giving words.  Believe the Word and let it soak deep into your soul. 

I am thankful for a well-worn cookbook and a well-worn Bible.  Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (NIV)

In the year 2020, it is hard to imagine life without a cell phone.  Some of us “senior saints” remember when mobile phones did not exist except in the world of George Jetsen.    When George would call his wife, she would pop up on a screen, and we thought that was cute for the kids to see, but it was never going to be a reality.  Never say never.    The year 2020 has most of us familiar with Facetime, Zoom meetings, and Marco Polo. 

A few days ago, my husband Gaylon lost his cell phone.  He had driven my car to run an errand and as he braked, the phone fell between the seat and the console.  Gaylon spent quite a while looking for it.  I did not know what was transpiring, so I went to the garage to check on him.    To his dismay, and soon to mine, the cell phone was nowhere to be found.  We checked every inch around the seats, under the seats, and in the console.  Gaylon activated his phone finder and it was evident the phone was in the car. I even peeled back skin on my hand looking for that valuable phone.  

Alas, I had an idea!  Let me call your phone and it will light up in the car and you will know where it is.  It worked!  He had never dropped the phone.  It was over the visor exactly where he had put it!   Oh boy!    Nevertheless, our priority was to find the valuable thing that was lost and return it to its owner.

Many of us have feverishly and relentlessly looked for something of value that was lost.  What would happen if we had the same attitude towards lost souls?   If we are going to have the heart of God, we must put true effort into finding the lost.   They are valuable to God, and they must become valuable to us.  How does God feel about lost souls?  Jesus told us exactly how God feels.

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:4-7.

On many occasions I have been asked to share my testimony.  As a child I was put through all kinds of abuse, lived in abject poverty, and was deeply lost emotionally.   That was tragic. Even more tragic was that I was lost and facing an eternity in hell without God.   I was certainly not popular, did not wear nice clothes, and was not included in many fun things with other kids. BUT GOD was seeking me, looking for the girl that He had created. 

Miss Poulos, as we fondly called her, found me and many others. She picked us up. Took us to church.  Taught us in Sunday school, and led us to Jesus Christ.  Others saw me as just another “snotty-nosed” kid from a dysfunctional home.   Miss Poulos saw me as valuable in God’s sight and put a lot of effort into finding this lost sheep. 

Today, I am still a child of God, serving in full-time ministry, and teaching others about the grace of God.  I have raised three sons.   One of them awaits me in heaven, and the other two have families that are serving God.  Sometimes I tear up thinking of the difference in their lives because of the difference in my life. It was all because Miss Poulos sought that which was lost.

We, too, were once lost in sin before the Lord found us and saved us through the ministry of others – whether through our parents, through a friend, by attending church, or any other means.  Sometimes we see unbelievers as the enemy.  God sees them as valuable.   They are not the enemy but are under the influence of THE enemy. 

The year 2021 will soon be here and we tend to set all kinds of goals.  Why not set a goal to win the lost?   I plan to set a goal to win at least one person per month to Jesus.  Can you set a goal to win six, four, or even two?   I am already praying for God to help me pinpoint those who are lost and help me to bring them to Him.

We must become imitators of God.  Thank God for Bible studies!  I teach them.  Thank God for prayer meetings! I am involved in several.  Thank God for good worship!  I love it.   I want to imitate God by having a heart that seeks the lost.  I want to seek them like Gaylon and I sought a cell phone that seemed valuable.    

I love the way Pastor Greg Laurie expressed his thoughts:

Jesus said, “You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest” (John 4:35 NLT).

Do not just think of the world. Think of your world. Lift up your eyes in your family. There are people ready to come to Jesus. Lift up your eyes in your neighborhood. There are people ready to come to Jesus. Lift up your eyes in your community. There are people ready to come to Jesus.

COVID-19, COVID-19, COVID-19!  Are you tired of the acronym for Corona Virus Disease 2019?   Even my grandson, who was three at the time,  told me we could not go to the park because there was “crona birus.”  

Because of this strange period of time we are in, I have seen little of my grandchildren who live in North Carolina and Louisiana. More than ten months passed without seeing their sweet faces.  Gaylon and I made a decision that it was time to see those precious children, so this past weekend, we drove to Hickory, North Carolina, to see Mr. Tucker Bryan Benton.   Tucker stayed in the hotel with us, and let’s just say he kept things hopping!  He is an energizer bunny  and Dennis the Menace rolled into one!  He is so much fun.  

On Saturday night as we went to bed, Gaylon and I  were both exhausted.   Papa and Grammy are not spring chickens anymore!   Tucker was already asleep, and around 11:45, Gaylon and I retired for the evening.   About 6:00 in the morning, I heard something.  In the quietness of the dark room, I listened carefully and heard it again and again.  Then, I heard a slightly different sound, followed by voices.  In my muddled state of mind, I wondered what was happening.

Then, it dawned on me that someone was trying to get into our room!  I whispered to my husband Gaylon, “Someone is at our door.”  He responded in his own muddled state, “What do you want me to do?”  What do I want him to do?!  Isn’t he the mighty warrior?   (He declares that he meant what did I think was the best plan of action.) 

I got out of my bed and walked to the door.  Through the crack of the door I said, “Go away.  You have the wrong room!”  I wasn’t too sweet about it.   I know you readers would have been so polite, but I was authoritative.   The person on the other side of the door had been slipping their key card in and out, and turning the handle, then talking aloud about how it didn’t work.  After I stood in authority, the ones on the other side of the door left!

How often does the enemy disrupt our peace in life?  He comes to our dwelling, and wants to move in.  James was very clear how to handle this.  “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7.     

First of all, let me go on record as saying there is a real devil…BUT, there is also a real God!   As believers who have been born again and empowered by the Spirit of God, we have authority over the devil and his imps.  Too often, we open the door and say come on in!  We have seen the devil increase his presence in America, and he’s not even subtle with it anymore.  It is time to submit to God, and to resist the devil!   Submitting to God must happen first or we have no authority.

Resisting the devil is not just about doing all night prayer meetings and hanging crosses throughout the home.  It is to submit to God, walk away from temptation, and stop living as the world lives. The power of darkness itself is subject to the resurrection of Christ. The only power it has over us is what we give it.

I have made a decision and hope you will join me by making your own decision.  It is time to stand at the door and serve notice on the devil.  You have no authority here.   None!   It is time for the Church to rise up in America, SUBMIT TO GOD,  and resist the devil.   I am going to defend the ground that has already been gained for my family and my city, and I am going on the offensive to take new ground by breaking the strongholds of Satan. 

I was really tired that morning in the hotel when an intruder wanted to come into my space.  I was tired enough to say, “No more!  You are not coming in.”  It required movement from my place of rest to assert authority, but the alternative wasn’t even an option.  Why wasn’t it an option – because I wasn’t just protecting myself, but I was protecting my grandchild. 

Child of God, it is time!  I know some of us are tired and don’t really want to arise. It is time to strengthen our hands for war. It is time to stop the double mindedness that has infiltrated God’s people.   It is time to have an urgency about us.  It is time to close the door on the devil.  Do it for yourself, do it for your family, do it for the country, do it for God’s Kingdom.

Devil, stop right there!

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”  – 1 Peter 5:8-10

Pictured are two women who overcame in life. This is my mother and my grandmother attending my wedding. My grandmother lost her husband when he was only forty-seven years old, and she was still raising several of her nine children, and she had no money. I am not sure how she made it, but she did.

My mother was one of kindest people on the planet. She did not have much materially but was loved by so many, because she so kind and caring. My father was a stern, self-centered man, and never treated her as she deserved. She pretty much raised her eight children by herself, kept house, cooked, and put up with so much, including a man who was often drunk and scary.

Let me share a memory of my mom. My mother had a leg amputated because of diabetes that had ravaged her body. She stayed in the hospital a while, and I still remember the moment she came home. It was difficult to get her into the house, and once she was inside, it was a rare moment when I saw my mother cry.  Oh, I know she cried internally a lot, but kept it from us.  She was faced with the reality that life was going to be even more difficult.

Mom soon adapted and returned to the things that she felt needed her attention.  Most of her children lived out of town, so the day by day routine became hers again.  My father had to get up at five in the morning to get to work.  Daddy liked a cooked breakfast, and my mother had always gotten up to prepare it for him.  He never cooked for himself, cleaned house for himself, or did much of anything for himself.  After Mama’s leg amputation, Daddy still did little for himself. 

My mother would get up at 5:00 a.m., lift her body into the wheelchair, roll into her small, crowded kitchen to cook for my father.  The diabetes had also taken a significant part of her vison, yet she would find a way to cook.  Daddy would eat and leave.  Mom would clean up the mess and go about her day trying to get things done. She also had a hot meal on the table for dad, who would come home for lunch every day. 

My mom went to her grave at age sixty-three still not complaining, and still struggling to do the best she could.  It can bring tears to my eyes now to picture her.  She had a heart attack as she tried to cover my dad, who was already in bed and was cold. She wheeled into the room to cover him and that was her last act of kindness she would ever do.

In 1970 while I was in college, my mother called to tell me that she had accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.  I was a student at a Christian university, preparing for a life of ministry.  Needless to say, I was so excited.     

Why am I so excited? Because now Mama has a beautiful home with her Lord and Savior.  Mama can get around without a wheelchair.  Mama is not overtired.  Mama is enjoying life to a degree she never came close to experiencing on earth. (And I think she’s probably hanging out with my son Bryan.)

So, on this Mother’s Day, I honor Ailene Ruth Wells.  What an example of grace and kindness she was.  What an example of endurance she was.  I did not realize until I became a mother just how much she sacrificed for her children.   I cannot wait to see her again on a great reunion day in Heaven.  Mama, thanks for the life you lived.

“Her children rise up and call her blessed… ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.'” – Proverbs 31-28-29

Yesterday was an unusual Resurrection Day for most of us.  There was almost no dressing up to attend to a gathering of believers.  There were few big family celebrations around the dinner table.  Coronavirus changed everything about Resurrection Day – not so quick!  Coronavirus did not change the day at all.  Jesus is still risen!  The power of the message was not changed.  We serve an incredible, loving, sin-forgiving, conquering King!

There is a danger on the Monday after Easter. How easy it is to move from Resurrection Sunday to an ordinary Monday, living life as if the resurrection was just an event! We’ll ask others how their Easter was, and then move on to the quarantine isses, weather, politics, work, the latest TV show and how irritated we are with people.

Too often we are unaware of the significance of all that we heard and celebrated the previous day. We celebrated a risen Lord who now resides inside of us, giving us power to walk in this life. Yet, too many will continue to fight sin in their own strength, walk through life as if they walk alone, and battle a nagging fear of death and even a fear of life. The resurrection will fade into the white noise of life, making no noticeable impact.

We are not sure what the disciples did on the Monday after Jesus was resurrected. Perhaps they stayed together celebrating the news of the resurrection. Perhaps they laughed, worshiped and resurrection joy flooded their day. Maybe they kept a low profile in case soldiers or other religious leaders were looking for them. Perhaps they sat around having conversations, trying to piece together exactly what occurred. We can’t be certain of anything that happened on Monday, but we can be certain of one thing: their lives were never the same. The men who had been so timid and fearful were now brave and courageous. They became emboldened to preach the good news, live the good news and in many cases, die for the good news. Resurrection changed their lives!

Let it be the same for you and me! Do not allow the day after Resurrection Sunday to take away the power, encouragement, hope and celebration that was experienced in celebrating our Risen Lord! The tomb is still empty and no matter what Monday brings, Jesus is still alive! As you face today, this week and the future, keep the empty tomb at the forefront of your thoughts. There is still real power, hope, victory and confidence because of a risen Savior.

As I reflected on this Monday, I found myself asking God to make me soil for the resurrected life of Christ to begin to germinate, grow, come forth. Oh God, break up the ground of my heart and plow me deep, deeper than I have ever been. I long to let the power of new life work within me. God, I don’t want resurrection to be just an event in life, but an event that changed my life.

Don’t let today be the Monday after Resurrection Day. Let today be the day that the empty tomb empowered you to be a victorious child of God. Easter is not over, and never will be.

I do a lot of traveling. While I book most of my travel myself, on occasion, I have used a travel agent. I have a few friends who are travel agents, and their expertise can come in very handy.  They know how to send me on a trip!

Some people are travel agents for guilt trips. They can masterfully make others walk in a state of guilt. “You should spend more time with me. You should keep your house neater. Your kids are the way they are because of you. It’s all your fault! You should help me out financially. Are you really going to eat that? You need to have more faith.”  

Guilt trip agents are a sad bunch. But, even sadder is when we accept the ticket to take a guilt trip! Guilt trips agents are in your family, at your place of employment, and there are plenty in the Church.

Recently I read an exchange between some folks on social media.   It was a conversation about faith.  It wasn’t long until the conversation deteriorated into one stating that it was a lack of faith as to why the situation did not work out.               

What a guilt trip!  If you just have enough faith, all of life will work out like you want? Just believe God and you’ll get what you are praying for?  I wish it was that simple.

Is faith necessary? Yes! Does faith please God? Yes! The Word tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Should we walk around as doubt-filled, hopeless people? No! Doesn’t it also take faith to walk with God when life doesn’t work out with flowers and cheerful songs? That takes great faith.

I have learned to trust God when healing comes and when it doesn’t. I trust God when I have money in the bank and when I don’t. I trust God with my tears and my fears. (And I have had plenty of both the last few years.) Hebrews 11 tells us “By faith Enoch walked with God …”. You can find a short version of his life in Genesis 5. Enoch walked with God during a period of great darkness when few men walked with God. Yet, Enoch determined, by faith, to walk with God.

As believers, we must determine that by faith we will walk with God. Life won’t always make sense. Faith won’t always make sense. It’s not always an issue that if I have enough faith, things will work out like I envisioned. I have had to learn to walk with God no matter the season in which I find myself.

This is my testimony, “He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.” Some of us need to fire our travel agents!

Gaylon and I just returned from St. Simons Island, GA, where we were a part of my sister Margaret’s eightieth birthday celebration. We were raised rough in a family with eight children. Seven are still living and all were in attendance at this celebration.

As I looked around the room, I almost teared up.  There we all stood ranging from ages sixty-eight through eighty.  We were no longer small children suffering from poverty, abuse, and terror.  There we stood as much older adults. We had overcome!  We had not just survived, but we had overcome.

Several of my nieces and nephews were in attendance.   I rarely get to see these young men and women.  While a few of us were telling stories of what it was like growing up, we reminisced with funny stories and sad stories.  Our nieces were captivated to hear our stories.  They had very little knowledge of what the Wells household had been like.  They said, “We’ve never heard these stories, and would love to hear more.”

The next day at lunch we had those nieces sit with a few of us “kids” as we told them more stories.  Again, they loved hearing about their ancestory.  One thing we said, after telling stories, was how we had all done well in life regardless of how we had started our lives.

May I share some things that have been on my mind after this time with family?

1. Share history with your family.  It’s important that they know what you have overcome.
2. Get together with family to laugh and celebrate.
3. How you began life does not have to control how you end life.

Life was beyond rough when we were growing up.  As I listened to the stories my siblings shared, there were moments of pain.  But, over and over, we came back to laughter and gratitude that we no longer lived in that place!  I don’t want to live in the pain I suffered decades ago!  I want to walk healed and whole.  From a personal perspective, I have been  privileged to raise three sons, who never  experienced the life I knew.  That makes me smile.

I never tire of the testimony of my life!  I was a broken child.  A woman found me, took me to church, and introduced me to Jesus Christ.

The road to get where I am today was long and winding.  The early years of walking with God produced little in my life.  For many years, I  was filled with anger and resentment about the past. My mind screamed about the “should have’s” and “ought to be’s.” I kept a mental list about how my childhood should have been.  There were periods with no communication with family because it was just easier than facing the past…until I saw the light.

As the years rolled by, I eventually learned that I could overcome my past. The story of my past didn’t change, but the story of my future did change!   I could live a “normal” life and raise a healthy family.  God helped me to transform my pain instead of transfer my pain. Through the mentoring I received from great women of  God, I made a decision to go all in with God, to live by His principles, and to trust Him with the healing process.  I’m so glad I did!

Are you stuck in pain?  That can be understandable.  Both Jesus and I have compassion for what you have been through.  Are you ready to be unstuck?  Jesus Christ awaits you with open arms.  He’s ready to walk the journey with you.  There are more chapters to be written about your life.  Your story is not over, and with Christ, the best chapters are yet to be written.

“For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” – Isaiah 41:13

It’s hard to believe that twenty years ago, many were sitting around waiting for catastrophic events to unfold.  The year 2000 was about to break, and the prediction was that computers would crash and create havoc.  Well, none of that happened!

Here we sit  twenty years later, on the last day of 2019 about to end another decade.  Exactly what happened in the 2010s:

1. The first iPad went on sale.
2. We saw Occupy Wall Street
3. Black Lives Matter
4. The ALS ice bucket challenge.
5. A shocking presidential result in the 2016 presidential election.
6. A rise in mass shootings and terrorist attacks.
7. The Supreme Court of the United States legalized gay marriage.
8. A new generation of Royals were born.
9. We experienced a total solar eclipse.
10. We lost Dr. Billy Graham, as he stepped into his heavenly reward.

I only highlighted a few of the things that we saw in the United States.  One thing is for sure, the 2010s were unlike anything we have seen in a time span of ten years.  Violence, social media, and politics have all become ugly.

As I reflect on my own life, I can say that the 2010s had very high highs, and very low lows.

1. One of our sons got married.
2. Six grandchildren were added, four by birth and two by adoption.
3. I traveled the United States and the world preaching the Gospel.
4. We lost our son Bryan at the age of 36. He never got to meet his son who was born soon after.
5. One of our precious grandsons was diagnosed with autism.
6. We paid off our house.
7. Alabama won four national championships in football.
8. I broke an ankle, big toe, and leg bone from a fall.
9. Gaylon lost his mother.
10. I lost a brother, the first of eight siblings to die.

Whew!  That’s a lot of stuff in the country and in our lives, and that’s only a fraction of it.

Sometimes remembering is a good thing!  What has reminiscing done for me?  It has shown me once again, that God is so faithful.   I am honest enough to tell you that there have been times in the past decade, that I was trying to hold it together on the outside, but filled with pain, fear and doubt on the inside.   I am so thankful for a God who, in His mercy, didn’t cut me out of the family.  Instead, He walked closely by my side, and became strength in my weakness.  He caught the gallons of tears I cried.   I can testify that I have been kept by the power of God.

Do you find yourself in a painful place today?  Have the stresses of life caught up with you?  Do you wonder if anyone sees or even cares?  Has life taken its toll?

Though you might not feel it, see it, or think it — God sees you; God hears you; God is there with you. He knows the ache in your heart.  He sees every pain.  If you feel crushed in spirit, God has declared that He will be close to you.  God is for you, not against you.

As we enter 2020, let me encourage you through the Word of God, “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help … the righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them from all their troubles.The LORD is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit” – Psalm 34:15-18;   “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Difficult people are everywhere, and I do mean everywhere!  They are at home, work, church, restaurants, doctors’ offices,  schools – everywhere!    Difficult people can bring you to tears, make you want to pull your hair out, and suck the life out of you.  And, let’s be truthful, sometimes we ourselves have been the difficult person.

There was a time that I thought I could change people through reason and persuasion.  If I had a rational conversation with them, or if I was nice, they’d listen!  Well, occasionally that was successful, but generally we can’t change anyone.

When I was ready to leave for college, I was so excited.  I could hardly wait to start this new adventure in my life.  After growing up in a tough, dysfunctional environment, I would finally have a chance to be free.  Not so fast!  My father said, “You are not leaving to go anywhere.”  Fear came over me.  What would happen?  Would it be safe for me to leave? Even more, would it be safe for my mother if I left?  That night with tears wetting my pillow, I asked God to do something.

I got up the next morning and left for college.  As we drove away, the last thing I saw was my mother standing on the porch crying and smiling.  I was so worried about my mother.  What would happen!

After being at school a few days, I came up with enough money to call home for three minutes.  Pushing through the fear of what I might hear from my mother, I called anyway.  When I asked how were things after I left?  My mother’s response, “He never said a word!”  What?!  HE NEVER SAID A WORD!

As we celebrate this Christmas, my mind ponders Mary, the mother of Jesus.  She needed God to work on Joseph.   Think of the story she told him.  “Joseph, I am going to have a baby.  I know we are engaged, and we both know you are not the father.  I can explain!  It was God.  I was overcome by the Spirit of God, and in me has been birthed the Messiah.  Isn’t that exciting!”

Joseph wasn’t buying it.  The engagement was off.  At least he held his temper in check, and decided not to go public with the story, and instead just walked away.  Mary’s heart must have been broken as Joseph walked away.  Could Mary trust God?  Mary had to ask herself, “Can I trust God to work out every problem I encounter if I submit myself to His will?  Can he even deal with the person that I am incapable of changing?”

Conflict was raging in Joseph’s soul.  That night Joseph was restless on his bed as he contemplated that Mary had violated their engagement promise. “How could she betray me that way? I can’t go through with this marriage. I’ll be nice about it, but I am ending this thing!”

Mary must have felt hopeless that Joseph would feel this way, but she had to leave Joseph in God’s hands. No amount of talking, pleading and begging could change his mind. As Joseph lay upon his bed, God spoke to him. God changed Joseph’s heart, and he walked in the will of God and became the earthly father to Jesus Christ.

Who are you wrestling with? What’s troubling you, making you feel powerless? Talking and pleading might not be the answer. Talking to God and asking Him to change that which seems unchangeable is the answer. Leave it in God’s hands.

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” – Jeremiah 32:27