Tag: trust

The Wall that Divides Us

The world today is divided. I think we all recognize that.

The “us” versus “them” mentality is thriving. But let’s dig down a little deeper: define who is us and who is them? Who are we divided against?

There is so much division fueled by anger, that it’s difficult to let our voice be heard, but it’s also difficult to truly listen to someone else, to hear their point of view over all of the shouting and the anger. I want to listen and understand others, but is that even possible right now?

So many questions. And not many answers.

What can we do?

First, let’s be aware of any walls we’re building to keep out others. Who are we keeping out? Go back to “who is us” and “who is them.” Just because someone believes differently than you, is that a reason to shut them out? Are we doing this, building divides, without even realizing it? I think it’s become that prevalent in society so we don’t even get that we’re making the division worse.

Let’s start nationally: I’m a citizen of the United States of America. If friends or family have a different political affiliation than I do, does that mean I have to build a dividing wall between us? Absolutely not! Whether or not I voted for our current president is not relevant at this point. I want whoever is president of the United States to succeed, to do what is best for our country. We are called to pray for our leaders, and we need to do that, whether we agree with them or not.

Now, what about closer to home? I’m sure you’ve heard of divisions within churches, and

among people of the same faith. That makes me sad. As a Christian, we all believe in the same God. We all have Bibles, so it should be simple to love one another and treat each other with kindness. Yet somehow it isn’t.

And with our friends and neighbors? Yes, there are times I hold a vastly different opinion than even my closest friends. Does that mean I have to build a dividing wall between “us” and “them?” Really? I don’t think so.

1 Timothy 4:12 (NLT) says, “Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you

live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” The NIV translation says “…set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

The book of 1 Timothy was written by the apostle Paul to Timothy, who was a young leader in

the church. Paul wanted to encourage him. When this scripture says to be an example to all believers, do you really think Paul meant to ignore everyone else?

No, I think we’re called to tear down the dividing walls, whether we purposefully built them or not. I want to be an example to others in the way I live my life, in my hope and faith.

However, just because someone doesn’t believe the way I do, doesn’t mean I ignore them. We should listen to them, listen to their point of view, and learn things we may not have known before. If we look at things from their perspective, don’t you think we’ll find more common ground than not?

As a Christian, I need to be cautious not to put myself in a bubble with other believers and divide myself from those who don’t believe as I do. I think it’s more important to reach out, especially this day in age, and find the common ground. We need to go back to the principle of agreeing to disagree. In the long run, we’re all citizens of the world. We all long to have good lives and be part of a community of neighbors, friends and family. Despite our differences, don’t you think it’s time to really listen to one another….not argue, not shout in anger…but have real conversation? It’s time to tear down the walls that divide us. In reality, there’s no “them” – there’s just us. We’re all in this life together, so I don’t think we can truly afford to be divided from one another.

Questions for you: Have you built a wall dividing yourself from others without realizing it?

How do we bridge the gap with others who may have a different perspective than we do?

Learning to Trust God…The Hard Way

Two blog posts that I wrote over the summer have come back to haunt me. In July, I wrote a post called “Reality of Faith, Trust and a Positive Attitude.” And the meme included with that post said “Trust in Him, Always, All Days.”

Then in early August, I wrote a post titled “Being Bold in a Time of Fear” which talked about being stouthearted (quoting from Psalm 183:3).

Never could I imagine what I would face where the messages of those two posts would have me nearly eating my own words. Suddenly, I found myself asking if I really did trust God and was I truly being stouthearted.

When things are going well in our lives, it’s easy to believe you have strength, and that you’re trusting God in all things. For me, even through this pandemic, and now with election season, it’s easy for me to say “God is in control.” Because outside of wearing my mask and casting my vote (even when I wish there was a “none of the above” category), I have to leave the fate of this country in God’s hands. It’s pretty much out of my control.

But in mid-August, things hit much closer to home, and that’s when I began to ask if I was stouthearted enough to trust God always, all days. Without going into details, out of respect for the privacy of my family, I became one of the many, many adult children who deal with the health issues of aging parents. Suddenly, I was thrust into a scenario where I had to make many critical decisions (with the support of my wonderful husband). Along the way, I had to deal with the emotions of both parents; one going through the health crisis, and the other watching their spouse of 60-plus years go through said crisis. Plus, I had to deal with my own fears and emotions, all while trying to make important and scary decisions about future care management. The world weighed heavy on my shoulders, causing me to spend a lot of time on my knees, praying, and crying, and yelling.

At my core, I had to answer if I really trusted God. And my answer was and is: yes. But that doesn’t mean I understand what God is up to. It doesn’t mean that I can’t be a little angry at Him because two wonderful people were suffering so much. It just means that I realized I couldn’t handle the burden, decisions, and fear on my own. I had to trust God. I had to lay everything at His feet, begging for peace, healing and relief.

In that moment, it didn’t appear that my prayers were answered, but they eventually were. And, as we’re moving through October, we’ve had a time of relative peace, of adjusting to the situation, and we’ve had miracle after miracle of healing.

We’ve seen God’s hand in nearly everything. Yes, hindsight is 20/20. We can see clearer looking back at the situation than we could while we were going through the tough days. God was always there.

So, what about next time? Will I be able to be more stouthearted? Will I truly trust the Lord through the next crisis? I’d like to think so. I hope I have a long memory. But that doesn’t mean I won’t have moments of fear, anger, and wondering what God is up to.

Whatever my emotions are, I hope that I will always turn to God in prayer, and know He is working with us, even in the darkest of times.

The Reality of Faith, Trust, and a Positive Attitude

www.TalkingAmongFriends.com - Rebecca YaugerI’m a big believer in having a positive attitude. I believe that your attitude can get you through life’s tough times….or it can defeat you.

But what happens when your world stops?

There are times in your life when your immediate world shifts on its axis, while the rest of the world moves on.

Right now, in the midst of the pandemic, there are many who are dealing with their own personal crisis: the death of a loved one, a scary diagnosis, the loss of a job, just to name a few. Their worlds have stopped, while the rest of us have continued on. It’s a strange place to be.

Today, my husband and I find ourselves in a life-halting situation. And it seems to be affecting our attitude about our jobs and our faith. It’s very disconcerting.

But as I’ve been thinking and praying and wrestling with this situation, I keep seeing a similar message via my Bible study, morning devotional, and even Facebook memes. It’s the overall message to trust God. He’s in control, He has a plan, and He’s walking with us.

While that message is comforting, it has also occurred to me that as much as I think I’m a faithful person, I have to ask the question: Do I really trust God?

Do I trust him only in times of crisis? Or do I praise him only in the good times and act like he’s deserted us when the tough times come? Aren’t we supposed to believe in Him 100% of the time? The easy answer is YES! But it’s not so easy all the time, is it?

I’m learning that God doesn’t want us to turn to him only in times of trouble, whether personal or world catastrophe. He wants us to turn to him in everyday life. Every day. Not just some days.

Times are hard right now, no doubt. I’m wrestling with the future, with difficult decisions that need to be made, and yes, I’m a little scared of what lies ahead of us. It looks like there are some tough days coming. But every day, I need to ask myself how is my attitude or my fear interfering with my trust in God?www.TalkingAmongFriends.com - Rebecca Yauger

Like I said earlier, I’m a big believer in a positive attitude. How we deal with the curve balls can make things easier or more difficult. A positive attitude, to me, stems from a positive faith in God.

Truthfully, I’m not all the way there with my attitude. Fear seems to be winning at the moment. Anxiety is clouding the way. So, right now, it’s even more important to get back on the path. To trust in God’s way. To allow Him to bring wisdom and peace. It may take me a little time, but I know I’ll keep pushing ahead. It takes a daily effort and a daily attitude check.

How about you? Do you have any advice on how to deal with tough times? Do you believe you’re trusting God always, all day?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stubborn Faith (Video and Text)

To follow-up on my post on Rediscovering Fierce Faith, I talk about having a stubborn faith in this video to help us through this pandemic (and more!).

(Please note, this originally posted on Instagram last week. I’m just slow on posting here on my blog page).

Thanks for checking in!  Text from video is below.

Video Link: CLICK HERE

To purchase “Fierce Faith” book from Amazon – click on the picture below

Stubborn Faith Video Text:

Hey everyone. On my most recent post on TalkingAmongFriends.com, I talked about a book that I’m rereading called Fierce Faith by Alli Worthington. And it’s a book about facing your fears and overcoming anxiety and wrestling with your worries.

Now, the first time I read this I was in caregiving mode. My parents had health issues, and my brother was battling cancer. All are well today, thankfully. At the time, I was going not only from house to house, but from state to state to help care for them.

Today, of course, we’re in a very different situation with this worldwide pandemic. I’m in a different place as I’m reading this book. And even though I’m doing okay. And I’m okay with this Shelter in Place Order. We’re very blessed my husband’s able to work from home I’m able to work from home, we’re still doing very well. There’s still some days that are harder than others, where I’m, I don’t know, sadder or more restless, or depressed, maybe some combination of the above. You know you just can’t go and do safely. So sometimes there’s a feeling of weariness that comes over you.

My church has been doing online daily devotionals and the pastor this one day, talked about stubborn faith. And that really resonated with me: stubborn faith. Maybe because I never realized that stubbornness might be a good trait after all, something positive to have. And I realized it’s going to take a stubborn faith or a fierce faith to get us through this pandemic, even though there are tough days, the days where I do feel weary, or even feel a little sad.

Those are the days that you need to turn to the one who’s really control, you need to turn to God. And God will give you the strength you need to get through this. Now what I’ve learned is that he’s not going to give you the strength you need all at once to get through this entire pandemic. He’s going to give you the strength you need for today. It’s like when he provided manna. He provided food for the Israelites in the desert. He only gave them a daily portion. He didn’t give them any to store up.

I think that’s what we need to remember now. We need to go to God daily and ask for the portion of strength we need to get through today.  I’ll worry about tomorrow when the dawn comes. I just need to get through today, and I need to get through today with God’s help, trusting that God’s in control, trusting He has a plan and he’s still here for us. And he’s going to give me that fierce stubborn faith to get through this today. Something to think about. Anyway, take care of yourselves. Stay well, and we’ll see you next time on TalkingAmongFriends.com.