We all have a story. No one is exempt from the difficulties of life. Some life stories are painful. Some seem unfair. Some feel hopeless. Some are filled with regret. None have escaped His notice. None are beyond His ability to use. To some how, some way, bring good from.
As you watch my story, I hope you see that though the Lord didn’t necessarily prevent difficulties, He has been faithful to use all that touched my life… for my good and His glory. And He will do the same for you dear one.
By Becky White for my Lord Jesus Christ
“Though weeping may endure for the night, joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
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Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
1 Peter 5:7 Berean Study Bible Psalm 55:22 NASB
Because He cares for you.…
Familiarity breeds contempt. The extraordinary becoming ordinary. In the era of social media, the Truth of Scripture can be lost on us as we scroll past another artfully crafted meme with a feel-good phrase. Even when that phrase is God’s Word.
That nearly happened to me recently as I read my “verse for the day” pocket calendar and quickly recognized this often-quoted and meme enhanced Scripture. Mindlessly thinking, “Oh, I know that verse…” yawn… (I’m being totally authentic with you here.) But this time, as I read the verse, the Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks as the words Because He cares for you leapt off the page and washed over my heart. I read and reread those words… Holding them up to take in each facet of meaning.
He could have ended the prayer directive with, “because I said so.” … He is God, afterall. But He didn’t.
It struck me so strongly and so emotionally. What a tender phrase added to the instruction of casting all our anxieties on Him.
On Him to carry.
On Him to handle.
On Him to work out the myriad of beyond-our-ability-details.
Yet He wasn’t just academically providing direction on what we ought to do with a religious, legalistic pattern to follow. He wants us to know the why… Because He cares for us. Such love and tender compassion embodied in that phrase. The Amplified Bible reads, He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].
Whatever burdens our heart, burdens His.
Becky white
Whatever burdens our heart, burdens His. He longs for us to bring our every need, our every concern, our every question, our every fear, our every what-if and even our every “why?” and cast them onto the One who cares for us.
Oh Father,It is face-to-the-floor astounding how You tenderly care for what concerns my heart. I lay my anxieties and burdens in Your strong hands and rest in Your sovereign care and control over all that grazes my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen
The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. James 5:16 NRSV
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NRSV
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11b KJV
Though I prayed (often) about the difficult situation confronting me, I must be honest and confess that at times, my faith was just a thin veneer of hope so. Hope so, that He is. Hope so, that He’s listening. Hope so, that He is able. Hope so, that He cares. While such honesty is uncomfortable, I am only putting to print what many of us wrestle with at times. But wrestle it out we must. Let’s not allow the enemy to take a victory lap just because life gets a little (or a lot) tough.
God has promised that if we seek Him, He will be found by us, when we seek Him with all our heart. And there’s nothing like an impossible situation, a trial beyond our strength, or pain beyond our ability to endure, to cause us to do just that. Fall to our knees and call out to the only One who is able to do the impossible in our impossible situations.
He has also promised that our prayers are powerful and effective. Recently, I heard the analogy of a sledge hammer hitting a wall, one swing, one hit at a time. Eventually, maybe the 35th swing (?), a crack appeared and then finally, the wall came down. It wasn’t that the 35th swing carried such a punch, but that each preceding swing had done its work. And so it is with our prayers. We show up, present your requests to the Lord and then walk away with His peace. Repeat, and repeat again. Often. Trust that no matter what it looks like, He is faithful, He is good, He is able and He is at work.
The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel.
– Thomas Watson
Allow the pain of your trial or the hopelessness of your situation, to drive you to your knees … to Him. Trust that however He answers is ultimately for your best and His glory.
One last thought, perhaps the most challenging of all. Do not give in to the temptation to give up and stop praying. We serve the God of all hope.
Enable us to trust You with what we’ve placed in Your hands, knowing that You are at work in the situations because we’ve asked You to be. Not because of what we see with our eyes, but because of whatwe see in Your Word.
Becky White
Father, enable us to have the kind of faith in You (not in faith) that allows us to sleep on the boat while storms are raging around us. Grant us the supernatural ability to sit still in peace, knowing that You will either calm the storm or calm Your children in the storm. Enable us to trust You with what we’ve placed in Your hands, knowing that You are at work in the situations because we’ve asked You to be. Not because of what we see with our eyes, but because of whatwe see in Your Word. Thank You for Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus
Stony Paths, learning to trust Him as we walk the stony paths of real life
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I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me. Psalm 57:2 NKJV
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27 NASB 1995
Stepping out of the elevator and walking down the long corridor, her stomach-ache grew as she neared the hospital room entrance. What would she find? Could she bear the sight she expected to see? Thoughts of the years long journey of watching layers of painful choices and dashed hopes, that have once again culminated in a rock-bottom experience, for someone she dearly loved, flooded her thoughts. Just before stepping into the room, she whispered a cry of “help”, to the only One able to give what was needed to walk through this emotional upheaval. The only One who understands every ache, every question, every tear still lodged in our throat. And with that silent cry to God Most High, came the soul deep answer.
“My peace I give you…”
While you may not have experienced the exact circumstance described above, I bet there are challenges that have left you speechless in prayer (with the exception of a whispered cry of “help.”) Trials that have caused you, or someone you love, to cry to God Most High. Who alone understands, and who alone can do the impossible.
Notice in the hospital-room trial, that God provided a way to walk through the emotional minefield. Not a way to avoid it. And not a promise to remove it with a wave of His divine hand. A promise of His Peace in the midst of. And by implication; His very presence in the midst of.
Gathering courage founded on His peace and assured presence, she pulled back the curtain and stepped into the hospital room. The pain and emotional ache were as she expected and more. Even as His promised peace washed over her. A palatable peace that gave the ability to stand tall in the midst of the raw reality of that hospital room. Sustaining and flooding her with a peace that passes all understanding.
Truth that can bear the weight of real-world pain.
Yes, tragedies of life do occur and must be faced. But never alone. Never apart from His promises Promises that we can stand on and lean into. These are not just memes to be shared, but Truth that can bear the weight of real-world pain.
“My peace I give you…”
Father, Your peace literally sustains us. Every moment, with every trial we face. From the mundane to the horrific challenges of real-life. Thank You for Your gift of peace. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray, Amen.
Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus
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In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. Psalm 18:6 NASB
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly, “I cried out of my distress to the Lord, and He heard me.” Jonah 2:1-2a AMPC
“And the Word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.” Jonah 3:1
Have you ever needed a second (or 3rd or 4th or 20th) chance? I admit I have (a few times).
Come with me, let’s peek behind the curtain of Jonah’s second-chance story. Or should we say, this God-of-second-chances story. Second chances for the dirty-rotten, down right evil, folks of Nineveh. And second chances for this prophet of God, who wanted no part in warning Nineveh, who as far as he was concerned, deserved a divine smackdown.
God told Jonah to warn the Ninevites of His impending judgment. But Jonah didn’t think the Ninevites deserved a warning. So, although God said go east to Nineveh, Jonah boarded a ship heading west to the city of Tarshish. Not exactly prophet-of-the-year in the making. Once on the ship, God sent a life-threatening storm that eventually turned Jonah into fish food. Chapter two tells us, “Now the Lord prepared and appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah and he was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.” Jonah 1:17 AMPC. Don’t miss that fact that God prepared and appointed the fish. This was no man-over-board accident that randomly resulted in a big fish that just happened to be swimming by! Though Jonah rebelled, God faithfully arranged a unique time-out space for him to think through his choices.
I am astounded at this picture of God’s mercy and grace.
Has God ever prepared and appointed a “big fish” for you? A sort of divine time out that has allowed you time to think through life, or bad choices or simply sift through priorities? Maybe it’s a season of learning that God is faithful even in the darkness of the fish’s belly. I love how C.H. Spurgeon puts it, “Anything is a blessing which makes us pray.” Anything. My belly-of -the-fish moments have included everything from the death of two of my children to financial reversal.
Sometimes we are thrown over-board by our own sin and rebellion, other times, life throws us into the “depths of the sea” by virtue of simply being alive. And sometimes, other people’s choices throw us overboard. Regardless of how we arrive in our “fish-belly” state, I want us to see that God is present. Seaweed baggage and all. He is attentive to our cries for help and we can be assured that nothing happens to a child of God by happenstance.
After Jonah’s divine timeout, we read these words in chapter three; “And the Word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.” God didn’t have to offer Jonah a second chance to do the right thing. But He did. And Jonah took it. This time the prophet of God did as directed and warned the folks of impending doom. God offered the Ninevites a second chance, spoken of by a man who had just experienced one.
We may need a second chance to do the right thing or a second chance to handle a trial the right way or maybe our second chance has come in the form of a second season of life. Whatever the reason we are in need of a second chance, listen to His voice as He speaks to you … “The Word of the Lord came to (fill in your name) a second time.”
“It’s God’s mercy that provides the belly of the beast.”
Jeff Schreve
Father God, there are no words that could adequately express my thankfulness for Your gift of the fish’s belly that led to my second chance at life. I worship You in the beauty of Your holiness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus
Click here for info on my devo Stony Paths or for a FREE pdf of Stony Paths.
As He passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth. His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:1-3 AMPC / NASB
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
While Jesus took time to actually notice the man born blind, and now begging for a living, His disciples landed on another approach. Observing the overwhelming trial the man endured, they wanted to know why he was born blind in the first place. “What did he or his family do to deserve this?”, they asked, with an implied assumption. Not exactly empathy in action. Jesus explained, “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in Him.” I’ll be the first to admit, being born blind in that culture isn’t something I would have volunteered for. And yet, this man was given the honor of being used so that … his life and eventual healing might be used to display God’s glory.
Later, the Apostle Paul tells us that God comforted him, so that he might be able to comfort others with the same comfort he had received. God allowed painful trials into Paul’s life, so that his need would drive him to the God of all comfort. So that … he could authentically comfort others.
Hospital bracelet
Now, let’s get real world. I have a few “so that” scenarios in my own life (I bet you do too). My first-born daughter, Tiffany Anne, died at three days old… Gut-punch excruciating. As I look back at that tragedy, it was through her death that I gave my life to Christ.
So that I might surrender to the Saviour… and glorify God.
Foot prints
Fourteen years later, I gave birth to a still-born son. Yet another horrific ache that words cannot adequately express. I can’t as easily see the “why” of his death, but through such profound loss, God has graced me with authentic empathy and compassion for others who suffer and long to know “why.”
So that I might share the comfort I received… and glorify God.
Heart surgery aftermath
Just over a year ago I suffered a health emergency that nearly took my life, and that included months of rehabilitation. Out of that trial came more empathy and a devotional book (Stony Paths, learning to trust Him on the stony paths of real life) with a message of encouragement for those who walk through their own stony paths
So that I might offer authentic hope… and glorify God.
And of course, the ultimate, so that, is Jesus Christ giving His life as a ransom for us. Living a sinless life, suffering, dying and rising from the dead … so that you and I might have a way to the Father.
Let’s bring it back home. What “so that” situations have been allowed into your life? Think it through. Hold them up to the light. Is there a tragedy or a difficulty that God has graced you with so that….? Allow Him to use your life, and all you’ve endured, as a display of His glory.
We must understand that for God to give “songs in the night,” He must first make it night.
C. H. Spurgeon
Father, Oh how I long to bring glory to Your great name! I hand You all that has touched my life, use it as an illustration of Your goodness, faithfulness and a display of Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I called on Your name, O Lord, Out of the lowest pit. You have heard my voice…
O Lord, You have seen my oppression.
Great is Thy faithfulness.
Who is among you who [reverently] fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor [in his heart]? Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God.
Jeremiah, the prophet, begins this section of Scripture by “crying out from the lowest pit” and ends by boldly declaring, “Great is Your faithfulness.” He said this, when as yet, his circumstances remained lowest-pitish. If we step back further into this book of lamenting, we see that he came near to the brink of hopelessness – often. So how did Jeremiah go from despair, to declaring God’s faithfulness? Did he watch a master-class on living an overcoming life? No, this real-life man, known as the weeping prophet had a relationship with the One True God and had learned to lean into that relationship, to trust the Lord God, in spite of all that was wrong and difficult and heavy in his life. His circumstances did not dictate his faith or view of God.
Let’s be real. Sometimes circumstances don’t change. Sometimes our “lowest pit” remains. The truth is, there will be seasons of no “shining splendor” in our hearts, but instead, darkness and deep trouble. Even for those who “reverently fear the Lord and obey His voice.” Our “lowest pits” may be canyon-deep crises that threaten to send us over an emotional cliff, like an unfaithful spouse or a rebellious teenager, an unexpected illness or the death of someone we love. A pit may be the day-to-day challenges of life that come like a steady and sustained drip of difficulty, wrapped in the form of a dead-end job, disappointment with life or struggling to make ends meet. If you’re breathing, I know you have a lowest-pit of your own that’s coming to mind.
It’s one thing to trust God for a particular outcome, but another thing all together, when we learn to trust Him no matter the outcome. Period.
To simply trust Him.
You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings.
01/04 Streams in the Desert
The Lord has literally kneaded these truths into my heart, maybe He’s done the same for you. Through the death of two of my children. Through the, not-enough-money–for-the-month life as a teenage mom, to heart wrenching betrayal. And even the ache of regret from my own past mistakes. I have found that though the difficulties were seldom removed, when I leaned into God, He provided the ability to stand. To walk through. And I came out with this truth on my lips – Great is His faithfulness. Lean hard into that truth dear one, He will not fail you.
Father,I. Trust. You. it’s so much easier to say the words than to walk it out, Lord. Help me trust You in spite of the pain, and in the midst of all that appears wrong… with disappointments, with crises that overwhelm or monotony or the fear of what if… I choose to lean hard into You, Father. You are worthy of my trust. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus
Click here to purchase a hard copy or download a *FREE pdf of the devotional,Stony Paths learning to trust Him as we walk the Stony Paths of real life. *(Along with other free products).
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Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation. Selah.
Men ought always to pray and not lose heart.
Psalm 68:19 NASB 1977 Luke 18:1
Burden. The mere word implies a heaviness or painful ache. Are you carrying a burden? Have you? Something so heavy that its mental or emotional weight nearly buckles your knees? I’ve been there. The truth is, all of us have been there, or are there, or are going there. Life is full of burden-creating situations.
Recently, as I began talking with the Lord about a specific “burden” in my life, memories of years of praying about the issue flooded my heart. I told the Lord, “Here I am again, Father, I feel silly coming to You every day about the same thing.” The thought was quickly swept away when He dropped this Scripture into my heart. He daily bears our burdens. Each day. Every day.
Whatever burden we’re carrying, He will bear the weight of it for us. Daily. Because, truth is, every day there’s either a new burden, or the same old one that still needs a miracle. It’s honoring to Him that regardless of how many “days” it takes, we come to Him in humble prayer. No matter how many yesterdays, or tomorrows – today, He bears our burdens for us.
Let me encourage you today, keep praying, don’t lose heart. Daily, hand Him your burdens. Sure, go ahead and explain all the gory details to Him if you like. Pour out your heart. Even if you’ve done it one thousand two hundred and seventy- seven times already (but who’s counting?). Today is a new day, and He’s ready to bear your burden this day.
“When God puts a burden upon you, He puts His own arm underneath.”
L.B. Cowman
Father, I am so thankful for Your great patience as I bring the same issues before Your throne, almost daily. You reminded me that it honors You as I keep coming, keep trusting and keep serving You in the waiting. Thank You! I love You so. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
Judges 6:13 NKJV
If you’re not familiar with the Old Testament story of the life of Gideon, or it’s been a while, grab your sweet tea, relax and prepare for real-life, real-world questions. When you have 10 minutes read all of Gideon’s story in Judges 6 and 7. It’s astounding.
We first meet Gideon in the middle of his work day, as he’s “beating wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.” Needless to say, a winepress is not where one usually threshes wheat! He’s had to alter his normal way of life and normal way of earning a living to accommodate the presence of his enemies. He’s also had to face the overwhelming fear that’s gripped him in the process. And then, smack in the middle of his routine and difficulty, the Angel of the Lord shows up and speaks to him. Reminding him that the Lord is with him.
His first response to the heavenly interruption is stunningly authentic and real-world. Gideon asks the questions each of us have wrestled with at some point in life. Questions that so permeated his thoughts that as an angel stood in his very presence, rather than fall to the ground in shock, he blurted out loud what was loudest in his thinking. “Why?”
“If the Lord really is with us…with me… why then has all this difficulty happened to us? Where are all His miracles I have heard about?” Can you hear the accusation or possibly anger dripping from his line of questioning? Can you hear the disappointment mingled with despair in his tone as he wrongly assumes that his current trials mean God has abandoned him? Or his assumption that lack of trials is a sign of God’s presence.
“If God is with us then why?… Why our child’s death? Why divorce? Why a challenging childhood, why a still-born child? Why abuse or neglect or unemployment or a wayward child… or no child? Why a broken relationship or a painful, lonely relationship …I could go on…
I don’t know why, I wish I did. I wish I could hand you the answer to the “why” of your circumstance – I can’t. But what I can assure you of is this – according to God’s word, trials do not indicate the abandonment of God. In fact, they might just indicate His nearness in away we cannot imagine. The Psalmist reminds us, “He is near the brokenhearted.” We are assured of His presence with us, whether or not He miraculously delivers from our trials or walks us through them – either way, He is with us. He is with you. He will not forsake you. Share your heart and questions with the Sovereign One… and then rest in Him.
Now grab your glass of sweet tea and open your Bible to Judges 6, see what He will speak to your heart dear one.
Trials do not indicate the abandonment of God. In fact, they might just indicate His nearness in away we cannot imagine.
Becky White
Father, I am so thankful for Your abiding presence, Your great faithfulness and Your peace. As I walk through the inevitable challenges of life, enable me to be more aware of Your Presence and find my rest in You…not in anything else. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jesus said to him (a blind man), “What do you want me to do for you?” Mark 10:51a ESV
One man there (at the pool of Bethesda) had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me.” John 5:5-7 ESV
So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?” And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.” 1 Samuel 10:22 NLT
Have you ever been so comfortable that you just didn’t want to move? Though the ankle-deep lawn or the pile of unwashed laundry was calling your name, you just couldn’t bring yourself to budge. Too comfortable. On the flip side, sometimes our desire not to budge, isn’t created by something good like a comfy chair, but from something known, even if painful or bad. “I may not like this, it may be hurtful, but at least I know what to expect. I feel safe here,” is the mantra of comfort-zone thinking.
I have been there. Wasting decades hiding behind the baggage of my past, with its built-in excuses – past hurts, past mistakes, past trials. It wasn’t good, but it’s what I knew. It felt “comfortable.” Maybe you’ve been there too.
In today’s passages we read of folks, just like you and me, hiding behind the baggage of their lives in the prison cell of comfort-zone thinking and living. To pull the cover off their hiding place, the Lord probes with some seemingly strange questions. Asking a man born blind, “What do you want Me to do for you?” or a man who has been paralyzed for 38 long years, “Do you want to be made well?” It’s here where I am tempted to think the Lord isn’t being very perceptive, but of course, that is never the case. He knows that a life-time of learning to live and think a certain way, of relating to the world around them as “less-than,” would need to be tackled. Jesus knew that even when it’s a bad situation, familiarity can be strangely “comfortable.” When confronted with the seemingly silly question, rather than jump at the chance for healing, the paralytic offered explanations as to why he couldn’t be healed. Perhaps he just couldn’t live with another disappointment or perhaps he had taken healing off his list of life’s possibilities. Whatever the reason, Jesus put His divine finger on the heart of the issue.
Pain and trials are almost constant companions, but never enemies. They drive me into His sovereign arms.
Kay Arthur
Would you stop a moment and think honestly and deeply? Are there areas of your life that need healing or that you know are baggage you’ve learned to hide behind? While I have no idea what baggage life may have handed you or what “lessons” you may need to unlearn, He does. And He asks the same question, “Do you want to be healed?” If you’re like me, you’ll have to resist the urge to “explain” rather than simply answer Him. “Yes, Lord! I’m ready, heal me.”
Oh Father,Yes, I want healed! Please enable me to live baggage free, no hiding, no excuses. Healed and whole by Your grace and by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ matchless name, Amen.
Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus.
Click here to purchase a hard copy or get a FREE pdf of the devotional,Stony Paths
You may also purchase Stony Paths, learning to Trust Him as we walk the StonyPaths of real life, by visiting Lulu Publishing or Amazon.
Devotions for Difficult Days 