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Do you remember our Bible friend, Hezekiah, and ho Do you remember our Bible friend, Hezekiah, and how he was going to be attacked by Sennacherib, King of Assyria? God sent the prophet Isaiah to Hezekiah with a message from the Lord, promising deliverance for Hezekiah and Jerusalem. This verse from Isaiah 37:30 has really stuck with me this week: "This is the sign I have for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit." Let's think about that. Typically, once a farmer grows a crop and eats that crop, if you don't plant again next year, you won't have new food to eat. But God said "this year, you'll eat. And next year you will *continue* to eat - without having to plant. And that third year" - listen close - "you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit." Do you know how long it takes to bear fruit from a vineyard? Three years. But God said plant THIS year, and eat the vineyard THIS year. Not only could they eat the crops from two seasons without planting, but in the third year they'd reap a harvest in a fraction of the normal time. Maybe it's just me, but that has me in awe. God doesn't have to bow to the timelines we have for ourselves. If you're waiting on God to answer your prayer, remember that God knows the bigger picture and the plans He has for you. He doesn't have limitations. And for Hezekiah, how did this promise begin? When he spread out Sennacherib's letter and prayed to the one true God. It's all about that relationship with Him. Do you have that? If not, message me, and we'll talk. Cheering for you, Karen #devotional #womenoftheword #hopewriters #hope #prayer #vineyard
I tend to be a pile-er. I will pile on and pile on I tend to be a pile-er. I will pile on and pile on, taking on way more than I should. For the most part, I think I can handle things, and I usually don't recognize I CAN'T handle it until I'm beyond overwhelmed with the weight of what I've been carrying. At that point I have a huge, full load of trash-heap junk and dump it in front of the Lord. "Ok, Lord, what do I do with all this STUFF?" King Hezekiah did the opposite. When he was overwhelmed, he didn't just drop the pile off in front of the Lord. Jerusalem was under threat of attack from King Sennacherib of Assyria. Sennacherib had already attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.  The king sent a message via royal messengers and a huge army to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, telling him, "I'm about to attack you, just like I attacked all these other cities. Don't think the Lord is going to rescue you. Join forces with me, and life will be better! No other gods have rescued the other people I've attacked, and yours won't rescue you either." After Hezekiah read the letter, Isaiah 37:14 tells us he went up to the Lord's temple and spread the letter out before the Lord. Page by page. He wanted the Lord to hear every word that Sennacherib said. He prayed that the Lord would rescue them, and in doing so, everyone would see that He alone was God. The rest of the story is that God DID rescue Hezekiah. You know, God is big enough to handle our big piles of junk as well as the page-by-page requests that we lay at His feet. The difference is when we spell it out for HIM, we can look back later and see exactly what He's rescued us from. Cheering for you, Karen #hopewriters #rescuer #womenoftheword #BibleBasics #thesofaseriesbiblestudies
A little heart to heart this morning: It's not a A little heart to heart this morning: It's not a competition. Your faith walk, and your calling is yours alone. If you're on the "same road," to the same destination, but your friend is "further along" and you just feel behind? Girl, stop. The only thing that matters is are you on the road God has called you to be on? And if it's yes? If the answer is yes, and you're where YOU need to be? That's what that matters to God. There is no competition. This is your journey to own. If you constantly compare yourself to someone else, you miss out on seeing the wonderful things God is doing for you. Just stay the course. You got this, friend. Cheering for you, Karen
This morning as I was having some quiet time, I fl This morning as I was having some quiet time, I flipped a few pages back in my prayer journal. I read a note I'd jotted down, from a recent theology event I attended. It said, "Embedded in the call to build the tabernacle was the promise of God's presence." Do you ever get the feeling that you're not enough? I do. A lot of times, it's when I read eloquent words - like the ones above - that someone else has written surrounding doxology and theology. Immediately my thoughts were, "I can't write like that. That's not me. How am I ever going to do what you've asked when I don't sound like..." And the words that came whispering into my heart? "I'm not asking you to sound like that. I'm asking you to sound like you." We put these pressures on ourselves, don't we? Pressure to be like someone else or to sound a certain way? But that's not our calling. God calls us because He needs US, in our own voices, talents, gifts, and abilities. Don't let satan's shouts that you aren't good enough speak louder than God's whispers that you are. Cheering for you, Karen #doxology #theology #womenoftheword #hopewriters #youareenough #spiritualgifts
It's been a day today. Personally, we're dealing w It's been a day today. Personally, we're dealing with some things that I just know are spiritual warfare and my mind has not been clear enough to put two thoughts together. My heart wants to... but my brain says, "Do you really want to get involved? You know as soon as you do, satan will attack. What if the risk isn't worth it?" I got to thinking about Esther in the Bible, when her Uncle Mordecai had told her that Haman, an official to the King, planned to massacre all of the Jews. She sent one of her attendants to tell Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” My ears hear Esther mulling, "Do you really want to get involved? You know as soon as you do, satan will attack. What if the risk isn't worth it?" A wife or concubine of the king could not approach him without being called - of they did, they risked death. But Mordecai reminds her, "Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther came to the same realization I did. It's worth it. She and all of the Jews in exile fasted for three days and said, "When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Following God's call isn't always easy. There are risks. But if He's called you to walk through the valley, Psalm 23 reminds us of His promise to go through that valley with you. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." ~ Psalm 23:4
During my quiet time on my back porch this morning During my quiet time on my back porch this morning, I noticed several birds looking for food at the empty feeder. I went in to grab some food, and as I lifted up the feeder to dump it in I spot this snail - right on top of the feeder hook! *Dumb old snail, birds EAT you! What are you doing ON THE BIRD FEEDER!??* I moved him to the grass where he'd be less likely to become breakfast. Just like my new snail friend did, we sometimes find ourselves in really dumb positions as a result of choices we've made. How lucky we are that our merciful God rescues us before we're devoured. Psalm 32:7 (ESV): “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” #hopewriters #myhidingplace #writersofinstagram #devotional #womenoftheword
As good of an example the Apostle Paul was, he sti As good of an example the Apostle Paul was, he still wasn't perfect. Like many of us, he says, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." I feel you, Paul. He goes on to say, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?" But look: here's the hope for Paul, and for every. single. one. of. us. Romans 7, verse 25: "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Lord, my deliverer ~ Jehovah Mephalti ~ Psalm 18:2
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