Tag Archives: worry and fear

I’m Struggling {5 Practical Steps for Encouragement}

5 practical steps for encouragement at thebusymom.com

I have struggled with depression off and on for 8 years now. It used to be that I couldn’t say the word “depression” out loud. There was no word for what I was struggling with. And if I did think it, I didn’t speak it out loud. There have been many, many things I’ve learned through this thorn that God has allowed, but one of the biggest is that when you bring things into the light that were once in darkness, it loses just a little bit of the sting. I’ve learned that speaking our heartache out loud allows the building up of the Body.

Today, I want to share with you some of the practical ways God has given me hope and joy in the midst of the struggle. I have to let you know upfront that I do not believe that we can snap ourselves out of depression. I don’t share these things as a quick cure-all. I share these things to encourage you. As one who has been there, struggling day in and day out, I know it’s hard, often impossible to bring yourself to do one.more.thing let alone something that might be good for you when it seems that all you see is despair.

If I can encourage you with this thought: ask God for the strength to do ONE of these things today. And tomorrow, you can choose another.

5 Practical Steps for Encouragement

  1. Talk. Share your heart and struggle with someone. Sweet friends, this is one of the hardest for me, so I’m starting with it.  When I am down or struggling, the last thing I want to do is talk to anyone. As an introvert, this is doubly hard for me. But, find someone you can trust, someone who you know to be an encourager in your life. {Along those same lines, you know who will bring you down. It’s ok to not spend lots of time with those folks! I promise!} You need a cheerleader in your life, someone who will speak truth into the darkness. Don’t suffer alone.
  2. Get out. This is another hard one for this introvert. 🙂 But, almost every single time I *forced* myself to go to church when it was the last place I wanted to be, I was so thankful that I had gone. God meets us in our lonely places, busy moms. Go out for coffee with a friend. Go to a movie. Go browse a used bookstore. Go to the Target dollar spot. Just get out. It’s nearly always good for us when we feel so isolated and discouraged to get out into the real world.
  3. Be healthy. Goodness, these all seem hard for me. 🙂 Take ONE step in the right direction toward a healthier lifestyle. You would be surprised by how much food and what we put INTO our bodies affects our emotions and our mind. Drink more water. Cut out the soda. Cut out sugar. The less grains I eat the better, for me personally. Get outside and go for a walk – even a short one!! Any of these *small* steps can make a HUGE difference!!
  4. God’s Word. None of us really *needs* the reminder to be in God’s Word. But when you are depressed, when you see no way out, a few minutes in God’s Word can give you that little glimpse of hope back!! The other thing that God’s Word does for us is show us that our Bible heroes struggled just like we do! Read 1 Psalm per day, see the heart of David {a man after God’s own heart} as he cried out in anguish, yet never gave up his hope in God. If you spend any amount of time in the book of Psalms, I guarantee your heart will be encouraged.
  5. Accept Help. Whew, I know I’m just throwing these impossible things out at you…I promise, once you try ONE of these practical helps, the rest will come easier. Be gentle and give yourself time. This one is pretty hard, too. For a long time I didn’t want anyone to know I was struggling, so no way would I have ever acknowledged that I needed help. By help, busy moms, I’m talking about letting someone watch your kids for the afternoon, let a friend bring you a meal, let your husband help with the housework, let your kids watch tv for the afternoon – I promise, they will be fine. There were times I could hardly get out of bed, and I praise the Lord that I am not in that place anymore. But, I know the desperate feeling. And, the Lord knows, too. He is faithful!! Sometimes He uses the people in our lives to bring us a spark of encouragement – allow them to do so! Be brave, call that friend and tell her that you just can’t do this on your own, ask if your kids can come over for a playdate. Let others in.

Busy moms, I know that when you are struggling, the last thing you want to do is one of the above. I’m asking you today to try. Today may not be successful. Get up again tomorrow and try again. Don’t give up on yourself and don’t give up on your walk with God. Cry out to Him – from your bed, from your floor, from your kitchen sink. He hears. He knows. He loves you dearly. Despite how lonely you may feel, you are not alone. Speak those words of truth to yourself. He is faithful.

If you’d like to read more about my struggle with depression, I’d love to have you visit my little spot on the web. Here are all my posts related to depression & encouragement for you. 

**Disclaimer: I am not in the medical profession. I cannot begin to tell you what is best for you, I only share these tips as an encouragement from one who has struggled herself. I have been on medication off and on for years…the Lord has used medication in my own life to bring me through some very hard times. But, that is not His plan for everyone. Prayerfully consider, with your family and doctor, what may be best in your situation. 

Heidi St John Guide to Daylight

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Rarely Early, Never Late: God Can be Trusted

god_can_be_trusted

Keep up to date with RSS or iTunes

Hi Moms…

Today I am in the book of Genesis, so if you have your Bible with you, go ahead and take it out and get your highlighter or your ball-point pen (or whatever makes you happy when you sit down with your Bible) and get ready to mark it up a bit. Today, I want to talk about the faithfulness of God and how trust worthy God is.

I’m not going to read the whole passage, but I want to encourage you to read all of it on your own, and that Scripture is Genesis 22:1-19. This is the story of Abraham and Isaac. Some of you might not be familiar with this story so I am going to give you some background on it. Basically, Abraham has been asked by God to lay down his son on the altar and to sacrifice him. It is an incredible story of God testing Abraham’s faith.

In Genesis 22:14, we read,

“So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Now, this is the end of the story, where God clearly provides a sacrifice for Abraham and Isaac was not a required sacrifice. But, here is a tremendous lesson we learn about the relationship God had with Abraham, because God is the same as today than He was all those hundreds of years ago.

The Bible says that God and Abraham were friends.  Can you imagine that?  As God and Abraham became friends, God tested Abraham. He offered to enter into an agreement with Abraham.  God told Abraham that if he would obey Him and would be blameless, He would Abraham’s family with many children and that God’s blessing would be on Abraham’s family forever.

As part of that agreement, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. God often changed people’s name in the Bible to signify a new beginning; Jacob became Israel, for example, and Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter. So, Abram became Abraham and now, we see, he has a son named Isaac. Abraham was like any father, he loved his son very much and Isaac meant more to Abraham than anything on earth, except for Abraham’s love for God.

One day, God told Abraham to take his son Isaac to a particular mountain and offer him up as a sacrifice. I can’t even imagine what it was like; it’s always gut-wrenching to even think that God would ask Abraham to do this! It’s a good example of our inability to understand God’s ways.  God asked Abraham to do this and, of course, Abraham was upset and afraid, but the Bible says he obeyed and he trusted God.

Can you imagine trusting God that way? He gathered two of his servants, a donkey, some wood to build a fire, and he set off with his son Isaac. After several days, they arrived at the mountain and Abraham and Isaac went alone the rest of the way. Isaac carried the wood and Abraham only took his knife and a flint to light the fire. Suddenly, Isaac looked around and realized they had no lamb for their offering and he asked his father where they might find a sheep. But, Abraham answered saying, “God will provide a lamb for us.” And they continued on their way.

Now, just for a few seconds, try to put yourself in Abraham’s position. Abraham loved the Lord, he knew that God had been faithful to him in the past and God had demonstrated His power and His sovereignty in Abraham’s life over and over again. And now, He was asking Abraham to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Let’s continue with our story…

At last they had arrived at the place that they were instructed to go and Abraham began stacking the wood to make a fire. Now, all this time, Abraham knew God had asked him to sacrifice his son. Could you imagine how sad he would’ve been as he walked for three days toward the mountain? What do you think was going through Abraham’s head? He must have believed his own words and I’m sure he was praying as he walked with his beloved son towards their destination.

This story illustrates how hard it can be to trust and obey God—but it’s also a wonderful example to us of following God through difficult circumstances. Abraham trusted and loved God.  He knew God’s heart toward him and his son was good. In the end, Abraham was going to obey the Lord, no matter how hard it was.

When Abraham and his son reached the place they were going, Abraham had Isaac lie down on the wood on the altar. The time of the sacrifice had come—and still God had not supplied a lamb, so Abraham obediently took out his knife (could you imagine this?) and prepared to sacrifice his son. To Abraham’s relief, at the last moment, God finally spoke and told Abraham not to harm Isaac. He then provided a ram for a sacrifice.

Could you imagine how relieved and thankful Abraham was at that moment? He had trusted and obeyed and the Lord did not let him down. God came through for Abraham at the last moment, and because Abraham obeyed, God reaffirmed the covenant with him.  Today, God’s promise remains in effect; Abraham has many, many descendants.

We see this kind of faith throughout Scripture, but never more poignantly than in the story of God’s own son, Jesus.  Just as God would someday offer His only son Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins, so was Abraham willing to offer his son as a sacrifice.

Are you facing something difficult in your life right now? Is God asking you to do something difficult? Maybe He is asking you to move to a different city. Maybe He is asking you to homeschool your children. Maybe He is asking you to take a quieter time around the table in relationships around you. Maybe God is asking you to trust Him in the midst of an illness or financial struggle.  Maybe God is asking you to spend more time with Him.

Whatever He is asking you to do, the Bible tells us that one thing is for certain: God can be trusted.

You can trust the Lord today, busy mom. Take your burdens to Him, let Him guide and direct you, and then believe that He will come through for you. God is rarely early, but He is never late.

signature-heidi

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

God Works Through Suffering

god_works_through_suffering

Hi moms..

Today I am going to talk to you about a difficult subject and I hope you can bear with me for a couple of minutes and open up your Bibles to the book of James

I want to talk about suffering today.

It’s been a difficult month, I won’t lie to you, for our family. We’ve had to walk through very difficult situations and some where we’ve watched our daughter walk through. Earlier this month, a new mom had given birth to her stillborn baby, and she was full term and it was right before our daughter Savannah gave birth to her baby, Noah. And right after Noah was born, about a week or so, another dear friend of ours lost their baby in labor, also.

It was a difficult thing to walk through with my daughter as she fought with the questions that we often fight with, like why them and not me? Why do bad things happen to good people?

And so, I’ve been thinking about suffering a lot and what the Bible has to say about suffering. And, what I think, as believers, we need to remember that God is working in the midst of pain; God is working.

It is the job of a Christian to look more like Jesus.

Open up your Bibles with me to James chapter 1. Starting in verse 2, we read of James’ point of view on trials and suffering. James has written this letter to teach Christians the practice of Christianity, to teach them what it means to walk with the living God.

And, James says if we have real faith, we will show it by acting like real Christians, no matter what it is that we are going through, even if it’s suffering, if we’re angry, if we feel like we’ve been wounded, or unjustly treated.

There is the heart of the Holy Spirit inside of us when we know Jesus.

Starting in verse two, in chapter 1, James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its works so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything. If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask of God who gives generously to all not finding fault, and it will be given to him, but when he asks, he must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

If you read earlier in the Bible in the book of Deuteronomy, 4:31, we read, “For the Lord your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you.”

So, how do we respond when trials and temptations come our way?

Well, the first thing that we are learning to do as Christians is to be thankful, for we see this over and over again in the Bible.

Ask yourself, do I have a heart of faithfulness? Do I have a heart of thankfulness? Am I wallowing in self pity? Or am I allowing God to work through the midst of suffering that I find myself in?

We NEED to have a heart of thankfulness and a heart of faithfulness.

And, we need to believe that no matter what comes our way, that God is inherently good and He loves us, and that He is working THROUGH the pain that we are going through.

Satan WILL lie to you when you are suffering. He will say to you that other people are watching and that you have to put on a face, because people are watching. Which is true, because Hebrews says we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, but, remember that God also understands your humanness, and when we believe “Oh I have to do it well,” that is performance based.

The other thing that we tend to fall into is the fact we want the approval of other people, and that is approval based.

Mom, hang on to the fact that God already approves of you. He loves you, He sees your suffering, and He knows that you want to serve Him.

And so, as you go through sorrow and temptation and suffering, trust the Lord for His goodness for you and that His mercies are anew every morning. And allow Him to fill you up.

I have a friend who used to say to me that if I lived in the future, that I would live with fear and anxiety, and if I lived in the past, I couldn’t have victory in the present.

The same thing is true when we are walking through suffering.

We cannot imagine, or take ourselves to a future place because it will take us to a place of fear and anxiety.

So, we need to learn to live in today.

TODAY is God’s gift to me and tomorrow (like the Bible says) has enough worries of its own.

So, learn to trust the Lord, today, busy mom. He cares about you; get alone with Him, allow Him to come in, lay down your sorrows at His feet and allow Him to work through the midst of the pain.

signature-heidi

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Hope in our Heartache

holiness

We ask our children when we pick them up, “Did you have fun?”

We ask our spouses when they return from work, “Did you have a good day?”

There’s nothing inherently wrong with those questions, but they each have as their main concern the person’s enjoyment of that which occurred. If those are the only questions we’re asking, then we’re missing the best ones we could ask. What about “Were you a blessing today?”  “Did you point people to Jesus?”  “Did you offer hope today?”

God’s main concern isn’t our happiness, yet we often (inadvertently)  train our children to think it is. Happiness is temporary, fleeting, dependent on the circumstances or the moment. No, He’s concerned with our holiness. Because when we are holy, we ascribe glory to Him which is the entire reason we were created.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said,

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup…”

Jesus – son of the Most High God – asked God to provide another way! He knew the next chapter in His story was going to be a painful one, and in His humanness didn’t enjoy pain and suffering any more than the next guy. Yet in His holiness, He said,

“…yet not my will, but Yours, be done.” both Luke 22:42

Jesus underwent terrible pain – worse than we can ever imagine as he took on the sin of the world – and chose to give glory to His Father.

You see, God sees the big picture in our lives, and He can use anything to make us more like Him. Failure, hunger, depression, heartache, wayward children, past abortions, divorce, abuse, abandonment, unfaithfulness, betrayal or littler every day things like unkindness from a friend or a terrible day of homeschooling…  Don’t get me wrong – He doesn’t cause any of the sin of this world, but He will redeem it in our lives if we let Him. All of these struggles that come as a result of this fallen world cause us to run to Him, desperately cling to Him, and sometimes even to need Him for our very next breath. And that makes us holy.

My husband and I lived in a season of infertility. (The Lord has yet to give me more “fruit of my womb.”) I wanted more babies, but I learned I wanted His best for me more than I wanted to grow that little one. That unsatisfied desire for more babies made me more holy.  Needing God, submitting to God, allowing Him to mold us into the beautiful creation He intends for us to be… all of those make us holy.

And when we’re holy, we can give Him glory even when we are drowning in the sadness of infertility.

When we’re holy, we can give Him glory by being patient and kind – even when our growing-up-family baggage is rearing its ugly head and wreaking havoc in our marriage.

When we’re holy, we can give Him glory by waiting on Him as our Provider – even when we aren’t sure how we will pay that next electric bill.

When we’re holy, we can give Him glory by offering forgiveness – even when someone we trusted betrays us.

When we’re holy, we can give Him glory by recklessly trusting Him – even when we’re fearful of what tomorrow might bring.

When we’re holy, we can give Him glory by offering the gift of hope – even when we feel hopeless.

Unless you’re somehow exempt, life is going to be hard at one point or another.

There is still hope in this.

And hope breathes life and purpose into the heartache of the present struggle.

I can choose to use this struggle well, or I can choose to waste it.

I want to use it.

I want to be more like Him.

I want to be holy.

I want to give Him glory.

What is your heartache? Will you join me?

signature-melissa

Heidi St John Guide to Daylight

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Faith for the Fight

godistrustworthy

Keep up to date with RSS or iTunes

Good morning, precious moms.

As I write this today (Tuesday, October 22, 2013) my palms are sweaty and my heart is racing—because I’m facing my own battle.  Tomorrow, I will have surgery to address some major health issues, and one surgery includes a hysterectomy.  I wrote about the initial diagnosis a few months ago.  You can find that post here. Four doctors have all told me the same thing: this is the best course of action at this time.  At some point, a decision has to be made.  And we have prayerfully made it.

My husband and I took a few days off to be quiet together these past two days.  We talked about our years of having children—and rejoiced over the gifts God has blessed us with.  We marvel, frankly that my body has held up so well.  🙂  Jay says I’m held together by “duct tape and bailing wire.”  I love that man.  I held on tight to his hand as we walked and talked, but still, I battled fear of the unknown.  Fear is a crippler. A thief.  Fear is NOT from God.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Today, I find myself running to God’s Word again.  As I pray, I am reminded of the struggles facing others around me, and of my own frailty.  I say out loud:  “God.Is.Faithful!” While satan would have us feel defeated and afraid, God would have us at peace.

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  John 14:27

My devotion today was recorded several weeks ago, in anticipation of my being “out of commission” for a while.  As I listened to it today, tears ran down my face—because even before my surgery was scheduled, God was preparing my heart through Gideon’s story of struggle and faith.  I especially loved God’s tender heart toward Gideon’s doubt and fear.

Are you struggling with a fearful situation like the story I’m reading about Gideon today?    If you are, remember that nothing we encounter escapes God’s tender care.  He never sleeps. The Bible says He even cares about the sparrow.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  Matthew 10:29-31

Can you imagine? The God of the universe—cares about us!  He is trustworthy.  He is good.  He is the ultimate healer.

Trust Him with me today, busy mom.

I do covet your prayers for the next few days.  My surgery will be tomorrow (Oct 23)  at 2:30 p.m. pacific.

—-Quiet Times for Busy Moms—-  Faith for the Fight

I want to go back for a few minutes today to the book of Judges, chapter seven.  I’m not going to read the whole thing to you, so if you’d like, you can read the story here, or you can open your Bible to Judges 7 and read the story of the battle that Gideon fights against the Midianites. As you read, you’ll discover that Gideon wins the battle with only 300 men.

This is my point: there is no battle so big that God is not able to fight it for us on our behalf. Gideon started with a bazillion men and God pared his army down to just 300 men and Gideon still won the battle!  It’s as if  God was saying, “I’m trustworthy!”

I love that God didn’t get angry at Gideon’s lack of faith, but He encouraged him by giving him access to the thoughts of his enemy. God is after your heart, busy mom–so you really can live the big assignments to Him.  He’s trustworthy.  He’s proven Himself, over and over again. At the end of the day, we either trust Him, or we don’t. We’re either like Gideon or we’re not.

Today, whatever circumstance you’re facing, whether it’s a financial difficulty or a struggling marriage or a struggle with a particular child or a big decision that you have to make, you can trust your decisions, your marriage, your finances, your children to the living God.  He is trustworthy.  He’s proven Himself before and He’ll do it again. You can trust Him.

In His Grasp,
signature-heidi

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Step Out in Faith—Let Go of Fear

gideon

We’re going to continue today in Judges chapter six.  I’m going to go ahead and skip towards the end of the chapter.

I’d really love to hear what you’re learning about your walk with the Lord as we go along.  Something I have learned over the years when in comes to Bible study is that our children, starting in about 3rd grade, are very capeable and studying the Bible right along with us.  I want to encourage you to give your children a journal and allow them to write what they see God doing in their own lives and what God is teaching them. It’s amazing how the Lord will speak to your children—so don’t be afraid to dig into the Bible with your kids.  🙂

So let’s pick up our study of Gideon today:

36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Now, many Bible scholars will criticize Gideon for putting out a fleece, and you might hear people say, “It’s not right to test God or ask for signs when we’re trying to make a big decision,” but I tend to see it a little differently. I think it’s amazing to watch God’s response to Gideon—and I find it hard to criticize him for his lack of faith… because God didn’t criticize him.

Keep in mind that Gideon had been living in a time of idolatry and he didn’t know very much about the living God.  Just hours before, a terrified Gideon had been hiding in a winepress, and it was a huge step of faith for him to follow God in this way—just considering obedience to God was testing what he had seen all around him!

Here’s what’s amazing though: God trusted Gideon enough to listen to his questioning and to take him seriously. God was patient. He did not get angry because Gideon wanted a “fleece.” So what do we mean when we say that Gideon “put out a fleece?” Basically, Gideon was asking for a miracle, a sign from God.

It is sometimes difficult to know what the will of God is.

If you’re struggling to know the will of God in your own life, here are a couple of “tests” that my my husband and I have used over the years to help us discern God’s will.

  1. The basis for all the decisions that make, the guidance for all the decisions we make should be found in the Bible. God is never going to ask you to do anything that is contrary to His Word.  If the decision we’re trying to make does not conflict with God’s Word, we move on to the next step which is to decide to obey God’s voice, regardless of the cost.
  2. We begin to pray about the decision more intensely, realizing that sometimes,  God will ask us to do difficult things and it will require sacrifice on our our part.

More often than not, following God requires that we step out in faith, and that we let go of fear. I love the story of Gideon, because God used Him in such a miraculous way, and we’ll see that again next week as we move into chapter 7.

As you begin to walk more closely with God and to read your Bible more, be listening for that “still, small voice,” because God wants to talk to you.  We serve a God who wants to have a personal relationship with you. The more time you spend Him, the more you will see how closely He desires to walk with you.

Walk with God, busy mom! Listen for Him.  Dig into His Word—get to know Him better.

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages

Leave the Big Assignments to Him {Part 2}

perfection

I’m in the book of Judges again today.  So pick up your Bible and open it up to Judges 6.  Yesterday, we talked about the fact that God was asking Gideon to lead an army.  Gideon was sure a a few things; first, he wasn’t even sure it was God who was asking him to take on this huge task, and then, he wasn’t sure if he could do it!  Can you relate?

Does that remind you of anyone else we’ve heard about in the Bible?  Many of the Bible’s main characters, not the least of which might be Moses

The Bible is so rich with examples of people just.like.us. It’s interesting to follow the story of Gideon and to see how he responds to the Lord, so let’s go back to verse 16 in Judges chapter 6:

16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

19 Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah[a] of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

It’s wonderful to notice that God did not lose patience with Gideon.  Even though Gideon doubted Him, even though he did not obey the first time, God understood his heart, and He did not lose patience with Gideon.  God has something that He wants us to do.

The Bible says that while man looks on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart. So as you go about your day today and you think of all things that you have to do, remember that God is looking at your heart.  He’s not asking you to be perfect, or to follow Him perfectly, and tomorrow we’ll see yet another opportunity that Gideon has to follow the Lord and another example that he chooses to ask the Lord for a sign.  Join me tomorrow as we continue in Judges chapter six.

Heidi St John Firmly Planted Family Devotional For All Ages