Fifi's Muse

James 1:5-6 in the NLT version. Most versions write about doubt in verse 6 but here it calls doubt having "divided loyalty". The presence of that divided loyalty causes inward instability. It's like constantly switching between one of two options without picking one. The book of James has a very practical matter-of-fact approach and it encourages us to just make a choice. In this particular verse, it encourages us to pick faith over doubt.  " But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:6 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.6.NLT #faith#doubt#waivering#faithblogger#bibleverse#christianinspiration

Do you believe that God understands how you feel? Do you believe He feels your pain? This verse is a reminder that He does. It's part of the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha after their brother passed away. He told them that God would get the glory and that their brother would rise again. They didn't understand that He meant that he would rise again based on his command. Jesus didn't go ahead with the miracle to prove himself to them, instead he stayed with the sisters and their mourners. His soul was troubled. Jesus wasn't more interested in proving that He was the son of God who could work miracles than he was in connecting with Mary in her pain. It's the same way with us. Sometimes we just don't understand what God is saying but He still feels what we are feeling and weeps with us. 

I read this verse today and an idea jumped out at me. Funny thing is, I have read it before and never really thought much about it. In this season there is more context for this verse because there is so much of a need to know the future right now. We need to know when things will go back to normal and sometimes that makes it difficult to adjust to the new normal. In this verse Jesus was saying to his disciples that it is not for them to know the times and seasons which are in the Father's hands. That statement reminded me that faith is trusting when we don't know. We won't always have answers or find them but we can find peace when we decide to let go of the need for answers and decide to trust. It's easier said than done but it is a process that we can work towards. 

A few weeks ago I was listening to a live stream of a sermon in which Oneka McClellan talked about how Mary and Elizabeth in the Bible encouraged one another during a difficult season. Something else dropped in my mind about their situations. They both received promises that they had to embrace and carry although it was difficult or even somewhat inconvenient.  Mary was a virgin girl engaged to Joseph. An angel appeared to her and told her that she was to chosen to carry God's son. He would be incubated in her and she would give birth to him. It wasn't a convenient time. She was engaged, what will her fiance think? What will her neighbors say when they see her body starting to change? It was a lot to take in but she accepted the angel's message. God took care of her fiance behind the scene and he had his own visitation. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was elderly. She didn't have the option of accepting or refusing the promise but she had joy in the mids...

When life gets too hard to stand ..kneel. I actually saw this quote while watching a show and looked it up. It's very catchy and encouraging at the same time. Life can be tough sometimes and on those days the first thing that may come to your mind is tackling the issue. How about pausing and kneeling? Or just plain praying in whatever position, handing over the situation to someone who can handle it, God. I am talking to myself too  🙂 .

In a space of one week, I met two people who said to me that they did not feel a place existed in the world for them. This statement shocked me. I guess I would have understood depression but that's not what this statement expressed. It expressed a sense of futility, a sense of wandering. If I were to create imagery for it this, it would be one of a well-dressed man walking consistently down a long and dusty road without a sense of direction. He does not stop to ask for direction but on he goes down a path that seems to have no end to it. When asked he says he does not understand it but somehow someone put him there. If you are feeling this way, here are some thoughts to let you know there is a place for you. You are not an accident: The miracle of conception is not a coincidence. I have the privilege of being a mother. The transition from being pregnant to actually seeing the child who was kicking inside me finally kicking his little feet out in...

image credit: istockphoto.com This poem is a journey through different facets of trust to create a synopsis Oh achy heart  with no one to trust the weary soul with no place to call home, The heavy head with no shoulder to rest on How your internal war isolates you It is indeed a hard decision to make An arduous road to take   When you consider that words first be can sweet  yet the truth about them is bitter you travel down that road once more  Oh, naive heart,  look once and then again because the one you trust is not worthy, it is one who reads from a well-written script, listen more than you feel is necessary, because the puzzle is solvable,  when the pieces do not fit it is not a mystery but a clue. If only you could see the truth  then you would soar  over the isolation,  over the heaviness There is but one that is worthy of all trust God alone But on earth, there are a few he has placed   B...

If today is not great, tomorrow will be better; If tomorrow is just sad  Next week will be looking up, If next week is bleak, Next month the sun will shine If next  month is gloomy  Maybe wait till next year  I mused over these words recently after they just fell into my head. Resilience is a great quality to possess, so is tenacity. To really be consistently positive, optimism must be stubbornly clung to. Some may say that the train of thought above is a little naive. I can understand this line of thought but without hope the things life throws at us could easily sink our emotional ships, blissfully sailing in carefree seas. I wrote a blog post about Job a few months ago and while looking at the topic of hope in a bible search I realized that Job, who had a very bleak experience in life, spoke so much about hope. Hmm,....way to hold on Job! He said, "At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new sho...