Tangled Messes

I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.

And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

I will bring the blind by a way they know not; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness into light before them.

Psalm 57:2, Romans 8:26 NASB 1977, Isaiah 42:16a AMPC

If you’re over 35, I bet you’ve experienced the yearly Christmas-light detangling ritual. It seemed that no matter how carefully the lights were wound, twist-tied and put back in a box, they came out the next year in one big ball of mangled, interlocked green wire and lights. The more you pulled and attempted to unravel the lights, the more knots you inevitably created. Oh, the “anguish” and frustration of it all!  Of course, now we have almost exclusively, the neat and tidy pre-lit Christmas trees. Amateurs.

This morning while thinking through a few serious life situations, and talking to the Lord about them, I admitted that I wasn’t even sure how to pray. Where to begin. What “end” to pull first that might unravel the difficult circumstances of those close to me. I held up, as it were, the ball of Christmas lights. The tangled, woven together hot-mess challenges, and had no clue where to begin. What to even ask the Lord for.

Have you ever been there?

Our tangled messes come in all shapes and colors, don’t they? Childhood challenges, regret, grief, relational issues, illness, betrayal, dashed hopes and expectations, or a million other things. Often tangled into a knot of, “I don’t even know where to begin” mess. And no pre-lit tree in sight.

As I continued talking with the Lord, it was almost as if He tapped me on the shoulder with one hand, as He held out the other hand. Reminding me of a truth that I (evidently) need to learn and relearn. Hand Him the tangled mess. That’s right. Give up trying to find just the right prayer to pray or light string to pull. Hand the whole ball of tangled mess to Him. And then trust Him with the outcome.

Let God do the untangling of your past or pain or regret.
Simply turn and hand it to Him.

Becky White

Whatever tangled mess scenario confronts you today, allow me to encourage you to hand the whole thing over to Him. He cares for you. He will not forsake you. Allow Him to do what only He can do. Wrapping it all up with the simple request that you want whatever will bring Him the most glory. Whatever that means and whatever that looks like. He is more than able to do above and beyond, all we dare ask for or imagine. Even untangling our Christmas light scenarios.

Father God, I hand this ball of tangled challenges to You. Placing it in Your strong and faithful hands. Though sometimes with trembling lips, I speak out loud that I trust You Lord. Thank You for Your great faithfulness to answer Your children’s prayers, even when we have no idea what or how to pray! I love You precious Saviour. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Click below for FREE pdf my devotional of, Stony Paths. To purchase a hard copy or check out other items, visit the products page.

Learning to Trust Him as we walk along STONY PATHS – 09.24.2021Download

Whose Voice is that?

The following is a devotional I wrote (and just came across again) about 15 years ago. As much as I hate to admit it – I still have to wrestle through this issue. Maybe you do to. Perhaps you don’t get tripped up with the same lie, maybe the lie you hear, and fall for, is completely different. Whatever the case – listen closely … whose voice are YOU hearing?

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.  

God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

John 10:27   NASB ~ 1 john 4:1 NASB ~ 1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB

Sometimes, as I pray for my family, I inwardly hear, “You should spend time praying for the nations or the president or your friend who’s sick”, so I shift my prayer focus and then I hear, “You haven’t spent any time in the Word today, what makes you think you can pray effectively if you haven’t listened for God’s voice?” Later in the day, I’ll grab a cup of coffee, dig into some office work and then hear, “You really should be helping the kids with their homeschooling, that’s much more important.” Pushing myself away from the computer, I go help with math or review a spelling assignment and then I hear, “Some Mom you are, your teenage kids can’t even get their school work done without you sitting right beside them.” By this time I am completely worn out and feel like a complete failure.

Alright, no laughing! Sure, it’s easy to see the cycle of craziness now, but not so simple when you’re in the midst of it!

While you may not fall for this particular ploy of the enemy, I would bet there are others that trip you up. Does he whisper to you, “A real Christian wouldn’t do that”? Perhaps he tells you, “You haven’t prayed long enough, read the Bible enough or ____________ enough to be of use to God”? Maybe you hear the flip side of that lie, “God doesn’t really expect me to__________, that’s for “super spiritual” people.

See what I mean? It’s not that easy to spot when you’re in the midst of it.

Why do we fall for such lies? Speaking for myself, it happens when I don’t take the time to discern the voice I’m listening to. if I did, I would recall that the Holy Spirit gently leads, corrects and instructs, He doesn’t coerce or criticize, or cause me to feel driven. Ever. Criticism and coercion is the M.O. of our enemy, not our Shepherd.

Eventually I realized that the “voice” I was allowing to guide me wasn’t the Holy Spirit or even my conscience – it was the enemy. I had permitted myself to be pulled in every direction and not only lost my peace in the process, but didn’t accomplish what God really wanted to accomplish through me that day.

Okay, I guess you can laugh now!

“Readers are advised to remember the devil is a liar.”

C.S. Lewis

Father, Please give me the ability to distinguish Your Holy Spirit’s voice from the clamor of the enemy. Enable me to quickly spot the ploys of Satan that get me off course and into confusion.  I appreciate so much that I can be real with my needs and frailties, knowing You will accept my heartfelt cry of brokenness. Thank You, Jesus.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Click below for FREE pdf my devotional of, Stony Paths. To purchase a hard copy or check out other items, visit the products page.

Learning to Trust Him as we walk along STONY PATHS – 09.24.2021Download

God is for You

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?

You have taken account of my wanderings;

Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?

This I know, God is for me.

Psalm 56:3-5,8-9 NASB

“This I know, God is for me. He loves me and He has a good plan for my life.” Many years ago, at the encouragement of a friend, I spoke that phrase out loud several times a day. For months. Actually, it would be more accurate to say I mumbled, cried and choked out the words rather than boldly speaking it out in some grand faith proclamation. During that season of near overwhelming difficulty, I saw no outward evidence that He was for me. Truth be told, it looked and felt the opposite. Yet I made the choice to purposefully speak out what I, soul-deep, knew to be true.

I knew, because I knew my Father. I knew because I knew His Word and His complete faithfulness to honor what He says. God was for me. Admittedly I didn’t know much else. I would have been unable to articulate how He was going to move on my behalf or why I had to walk through such seasons of testing and trials…but this I knew… God was for me, regardless of my outward circumstances.

Years have passed since I walked those darkened halls of difficulty when in desperation, I reminded my spirit out loud of the Truth. Since then, I have strolled through a few rose-strewn paths, as well as having nearly crawled through a few more valleys of pain. And I have come to realize, that whether it’s a deep valley or handling the frustrations of everyday life, I must call that same simple truth to mind. Daily.  (Of course, God being for us doesn’t mean we’re handed a collection of magic wands to wave away trials.)

And what about you?  Have real-life trials smacked you between the eyes, or have the ordinary, routine challenges of everyday life caused a limp in your walk? Would you be willing to take the decades old advice given to me? Look your trial square in the eye and then speak out loud, “this I know, God is for me, He loves me and He has a good plan for my life.” Whatever our circumstance, He is worthy of our trust.

“There are no ‘ifs’ in God’s Kingdom. His timing is perfect. His will is our hiding place. Lord Jesus, keep me in Your will.

Corrie Ten Boom

My Lord Jesus, I rest in Your sovereign control over all I face and rest on the bedrock knowledge that You are for me. Astounding. You. Are. For. Me. Enable me to receive that, and walk in it.  in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

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My Story

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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Keep Praying

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 what we 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 what we 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

Click here to purchase a hard copy or get a FREE pdf of the devotional, Stony Paths

The weight of real-world pain

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

To help you on your journey, click here for a FREE pdf of the devotional, Stony Paths, learning to trust Him as we walk along the Stony Paths of real life, or to purchase a hard copy.

Second Chances and Fish-belly praying

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.

So that…

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.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Rock of Ages, Cleft for me

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.

Lamentations 3 selected verses NASB   Isaiah 50:10 AMP

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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Burdens

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.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus