When Circumstances Don't Get Better

School has started. The holidays are approaching. Sports are in full gear. The summer furniture needs to be brought in. Oh, and don't even get me started on finding time to read the three titles I'm juggling. I get it. It's a BUSY season! Circumstances don't exactly lend themself to taking time to rest or practice silence and solitude. So what do I do if my schedule just doesn't let up? 

Pull up a chair! 🪑 

SHOW NOTES

Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

My Book Review: I Don't Even Like Women by Natalie Runion

Add to your Amazon wishlist: I Don't Even Like Women: And Other Lies That Get in the Way of Sacred Sisterhood

Transcript

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This keeps coming up as a repeated theme in my life. Circumstances don't dictate your outcomes. I've been thinking about that a lot and trying to apply it to my life a lot because, man, the temptation is to feel like a victim to our circumstances, isn't it? Let's talk about it some more. Welcome back to the mentors table. My name is Joy, and I'm the host here at this virtual table. Thanks for pulling up a chair and joining me today. I was thinking about what to talk about in this episode, and as I was working on my book that I'm writing all about surrender and release and developing spiritual muscle memory to truly let go and trust God, I was convicted by the section that I was editing today. And so I just wanted to share it with you as an encouragement. I believe that this kind of crosses lines as far as where you are in your walk with God and especially in your um spiritual disciplines journey to know um that this you're not alone. And it doesn't matter if you have a really great rule of life going for you right now, or if you um have a long ways to go and have barely started, I believe that this is an encouraging word for all of us and a good reminder for all of us. But before we get going, as always, let's take a moment to center ourselves and get back into a good head space and be in the moment so that we can receive everything from God. So would you take a deep breath with me in? Hold it for just a moment and let it back out. Maybe do that one more time. Breathe in. Hold it and breathe out. And we invite you to speak to us through your word. Amen. It always feels a little abrupt for me to just jump right back in after that moment. So if you need more time, always, always, always take um advantage of the pause button and do some more deep breaths and get a chance for your mind to settle so that you can um come back and be present with us as we are all learning together. Okay, so we were talking about what I was writing about in my book, and I was going over the story of the children of Israel who were getting ready to cross the Red Sea. And I just want to um set the stage a little bit and bring in some more details, kind of color in the lines a little bit more as opposed to just kind of the feltboard, um, two-dimensional generic version of the story that we have in our head. Let's remember that the Hebrew children were in Egypt for over 400 years when this happened. And initially, under Joseph, um, Pharaoh was giving them the best of the land. They were at the mouth of the Nile River, and they had all sorts of wonderful things provided for them, including really great farmland. They were able to bring their whole family there, and everything was going really well for them. And throughout the 400 years, they just continued to increase and multiply. And so when we pick up the story, when Moses is going before Pharaoh and saying, Let my people go, there's over two million of them. Um, the best that we can tell at this point. So it's not just a um, you know, gather a camp of a couple of hundred and we'll make a little, you know, a little mass of people walking down the road and work our way out. Two million is a significant number of people. And it's not just people, it's all of their belongings, it's their livestock. Remember, they don't have stores, and so they have to bring all the things that they need for living and survival with them. They don't have a store to go and get supplies from. And bonus, which is a beautiful miracle in the process of all of this, is that they basically had so much favor in their choice to in their and when Pharaoh finally let them go, that all of their owners, because they were all slaves, not just slaves in the like a cushy sense. Maybe there isn't, maybe that's not fair to say that there is any sort of cushy version of slavery, but they were under a very oppressive leader. Pharaoh, remember, had at one point committed genocide, not not that long ago from this point in the our story, committed genocide with all the infant boys and dumped them all in the Nile River. That's not if as if that's not harsh enough, as Moses is going and telling Pharaoh what God has said of let my people go, Moses or Pharaoh continues to make things harder and harder, and they're already living in a very oppressive, brutal slavery society. And so when they are finally released to leave, what is shocking to I think everybody there is that their owners turn to them and say, Yes, go and here, take the gold, take our family's riches, take all of these things as compensation, and they end up leaving with all of these um provisions really for them that they um I don't know, it wasn't something that I would consider like as part of the deal, but God supernaturally provided for them over and above what you would expect. Then we pick up the story where they have already started to leave and Pharaoh has changed his mind, and so he has um got all of his armies together and he is coming at them in full force, chariots, weapons, the whole Mamba Jamba. And they are at the point where they are running from him and they get to the the uh edge of the bank of the Red Sea, and it's this huge river in front of them, and they're looking back at the two million people that are with them and thinking this we can't go any farther. Like we can't swim, we can't um we can't float our stuff across. Uh there's we'll lose so much in the process, including many of our lives. So that's not an option. But then when they look back, Pharaoh's army is continuing to gain on them. Now there is another miracle happening at that point where the Bible says that there is a wall or like a cloud or a wall of smoke that is behind them that is obstructing Pharaoh's view from being able to see the children of Israel, and so they have this, as the saying goes, thinly veiled protection behind them, but that means that retreating is not an option either. So, in this chaotic, um difficult it on a like a macro level uh circumstances where they're looking and they do not see any natural way out, they are being actively pursued by their enemy, they have an opportunity at that moment to decide what to do next. And what's interesting is that Moses says in that moment, inspired by God, um, he gives them the next direction. And he says in Exodus 14, 14, The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still. And in my book, I'm talking about in the chapter that I am editing about the value of silence and solitude in our lives and stillness and trusting. And isn't that like one of the most um tangible forms of release or surrender that we can do is to open our hands and close our mouths and let God do what God is going to do. That's ultimately where we're going here, right? That's the silence, that's the surrender that God is inviting us to. And I noticed that He is inviting the children of Israel to that here in this moment as well. And I want us to pause the story and look all around at what's going on. Circumstances are probably the most dire and anxiety-ridden uh circumstances and dangerous that the children of Israel could be in. And yet God still calls them to silence and trusting in him. Also, I noticed that God isn't putting any sort of stipulations on this. Like, okay, guys, if you will say these things or uh apologize or ask for forgiveness for these things, or if you guys will all just like stop and recite the Torah for a little bit. And I know you've got my law written on your heart, so like let's let's go back over that, and then we'll all get into this good place mentally and spiritually and emotionally, and then I'm gonna fight for you. That that's nowhere to be found in the Bible. It says, He just says, be still, or he says, the Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still so many times in my life, and I continue to need this reminder. I try to justify, okay, God, I will do stillness and silence and solitude. I'll get to that, but I just gotta finish these different things on my checklist, on my to-do list, or I just gotta get my quiet time reined back in. Or I really need to get my like Sabbath time dialed, or I need to get back into a rhythm of fasting, and then I will get into a rhythm of silence and solitude. Oh, it is chaos in my life right now. All these things are happening in my home, all these things are happening in my family dynamics, all these things are happening at my job, all these things are happening with my kids at school, all these things are happening in my church, all these things are happening in society. Have you seen the news yet? Give me just a minute, God. I'll get to the silence and solitude, but first I need to take a minute and get a little bit more of a grasp on what's going on here before I can be still. And I think that we've got it backwards. I believe that this invitation that God is giving to us is not dependent on us getting our lives together. It's not dependent on getting into a quote unquote good place before he can speak to us. Um, it is not dependent on circumstances because obviously with the children of Israel, there was no circumstances that were going their way. That God was saying, like, okay, like once Pharaoh kind of like backs off, then I'll fight for you. Or once he like settles down a little bit, then I'll fight for you. God was not worried about the circumstances at all. He was not worried even about if the where the children of Israel's heart was in the sense of, well, you need to like get your stuff together before I can move. None of that. He said, the Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still. And I think that that's the encouragement that when we are approaching, whether it's silence and solitude or another spiritual discipline in our life, let's stop waiting for the right moment and let's start right now. Now is the right moment. God will meet us, he'll meet us in our intentional time of silence and solitude. In fact, it says He will fight for us. We need only to be still. That's surrender because we have no control. In no way are we fighting, but we are allowing God to fight for us. So whether you are far along in your spiritual disciplines and you really have a good rhythm established, or you're just starting, or you're somewhere in between, or you haven't started at all. Remember, the circumstances don't dictate whether or not it now is a good time to do them. Your posture of your heart and the things that you feel are necessary to like achieve a certain level before you bring those in. God says, Nope. Listen, He says, Right now, I got you. I'm not swayed by these circumstances. I'm not swayed by um if you're good enough. Actually, there is no good enough for God. None of all of the Bible says all of us fall short. So there's no way that we're gonna ever get to good enough. It's all dependent on Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross. And he says, you don't need to worry about good enough. I already took care of it. That's why I sent my son Jesus to die for your sins. So once you receive that, good enough is checked off. There isn't any sort of striving or um works that we can do to somehow impress God or to somehow get us to a place where He can speak to us in a way that is um better than another time, another place that we are in our life. God says right now I will fight for you, but you need only to be still. Like a pump you up kind of um message and to say like, hey, we don't have to wait anymore. The that that silence and solitude that your body and your heart are longing for, it's accessible right now. There aren't any stipulations that come with it, and God will meet you right there. And sometimes he'll speak to you and sometimes he won't. Maybe he'll be silent as well. But your invitation is always there, and whether or not he's speaking, know regardless of what you can see with your physical eyes, God is fighting for you. Keep trusting that, keep reminding yourself of that. Go back to this verse, memorize it, say it over and over. Develop a really deep neural pathway that says that no matter what I see, no matter what my circumstances are, no matter where I am in my walk with God, God is fighting for me. All I get to do is be still and trust him. Oh, it's so good. And jumping back in with another update on our life. We are, as I've said before, in the thick of fall, and this last week has been especially fall themed, in that our daughters have been um preparing for and then went to homecoming, which is a classic fall and football and dances, all the things. Um, my family also hunts. My husband and my older daughters, and um, hunting season has already begun, and we are specifically generally hunting for elk to fill the freezer. Um, elk meat is delicious if you haven't had it, and it is um a fantastic beef substitute for us. It doesn't have a really strong gamey flavor, and it's actually been a couple of years since we have um been able to hunt and fill the freezer with an elk. So I would love your prayers for favor for my husband to um find that right elk and bring it home and help um in providing for our family. Something new this year that we have not done previously, but because we're in a bigger house and we have a wood-burning fireplace, we have decided to stock up on wood ahead of time. This is something that I've seen my friends and my neighbors do. They will go out and um we can get a permit here and cut down some trees and then cut and split the wood and stack it up in these ginormous piles and use it as fuel for the winter. And if it just feels so like pioneer, you know, Laura Ingalls type lifestyle. And I've always longed for it to be a part of our life. And this year, Isaac, my husband, um, went with some friends and was able to get some wood. And the way that he came home just glowing, loving what he just did and how satisfying and fun it was. Um, he's even got on the calendar to go back out again and get more. We didn't really anticipate well how we were gonna bring back a massive amount of wood that fills more than just his truck bed. So still working out the details, but really enjoying this new part of our life. And um, we've got a good stack of logs now, and the next step is to split them and get them stored for the winter, and so I am really looking forward to that. Also, I wanted to give a quick shout-out. I was looking at all of the stats for our listeners for season two so far, and Tennessee, I gotta say, you guys are coming in strong with the most representation out of all the states and even countries. We have a couple other countries, shout out Emily, um, that are tuning in. And I am just loving seeing those numbers coming in from Tennessee. So, Tennessee, keep doing it. And what's interesting is you guys are all spread out. Nobody is coming in from the same city, but I love it. I feel your love, I feel your support. Thank you. Please share this with one of your friends. Let's let's get numbers even higher in Tennessee. And if you're in a different state and you want to see your state shouted out, I would love for you to keep sharing and get your numbers up for a different state, and I'll give you guys a shout out too. Thank you so much. You guys are all so wonderful. And finally, I wanted to let you know that one of the books that I recently read, I've put a book review up on my website, joyabod.com, and the book review is on the book titled I Don't Even Like Women, and I love that title personally. Coming from a this is a tar I am like the perfect target audience for this book. A woman who grew up in the Christian movement and is now in like 40s, 50s, 60s, and kind of just like hitting on those um that demographic and grew up in the church surrounded by other women. Um, yeah, I feel that sentiment really strong. But then the subtitle of the book is and other lies that harm the sacred sisterhood. It's written by Natalie Runyon. I will link the book review in the show notes as well as a link to buy the book. Um, I highly recommend it if you fall into the same demographic as me. It talks a lot about naming lies that we grew up with, naming um rewriting the script is a big part of each chapter of this book where we are reframing and getting back to what God has called us to. You know, that principle of the sacred sisterhood, I think sounds so beautiful and so compelling, and I want to be a part of it, but I but she goes through in the book and explains that if we continue to buy into these lies and we continue to cause more division rather than unity, then we are not going to be able to be a part of that sacred sisterhood. And I think that that's where the power is. You know, here at the mentors table, that's the idea, is I'm trying to gather all of you as part of this sacred sisterhood to gather around the table and encourage one another and share with one another and do life together, and that is where it starts. And we can't do that if there is division. Yeah, at a time when we're seeing our nation more divided than ever before. This is the time for the church to lead the way and show people that there is a better way, and it is in unity with one another, not in division. Go to the website, check it out. Nerd alert, nerd alert. Guys, I am such a nerd. I geek out on show notes. So if you ever want to know how to contact the show directly, how to find us on socials, links to books or anything that we mention on the show, go to the show notes. And at the very bottom, there is always a link that says support the show. It doesn't matter how little or big or how often you want to give, it's super easy to do. And I like to consider it a way for you to take me out for coffee and say, hey, thanks. And you know what I say? Thank you. You guys are the best.