Cold Toes

What if something feels normal simply because you’ve gotten used to it?

A cold foot and a warm bath led to a simple whisper: perception doesn’t always equal reality. In this episode of Wilder Whispers, Shā explores how our own spiritual condition can affect what we become comfortable with—and why God’s Word, rather than the culture around us, must remain our standard for truth.

Scripture: Revelation 3:14–22; John 17:14–19; Galatians 1:6–9; Romans 1:16; Romans 12:2

Listen closely:

What feels normal isn’t always true. Stay close to Jesus, stay anchored in His Word, and ask: Have I gotten used to the temperature?

Thanks for spending this time with me on Wilder Whispers.

Whispers are the language of closeness. They invite us to slow down, lean in, and listen.

If this episode encouraged you, consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who might need a quiet reminder that God sees them and cares deeply.

Until next time--keep listening

This is Wilder Whispers. I'm Shā Wooden.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:07

Hey friend, welcome to Wilder Whispers, a space where we slow down and listen for God's voice in the ordinary moments of life. I'm Shay Wooden, and I'm so glad you're here. We often expect God to speak through big moments, a sermon, a breakthrough, a perfectly quiet prayer time, and he does. But so often, he chooses quieter ways, in the middle of everyday life, in the unnoticed moments, in gentle whispers that invite us closer. Each episode, I'll share one simple story and the quiet truth God revealed through it. Not because it was extraordinary, but because he was present. So wherever you are right now, take a breath, let's slow down, and listen together. It's amazing how quickly we can get used to something. Walk into a dark room and at first you can barely see. But give your eyes a few minutes and they adjust. Step outside on the first cold day of fall and it feels freezing. But after a long winter, that same temperature can almost feel warm. We adjust, we acclimate. And most of the time that's a good thing. It's part of the way God designed our bodies to respond to the environment around us. But I wonder if there are times when getting used to something isn't such a good thing. When something that should feel different begins to feel normal simply because we've been around it long enough. I experienced a very literal version of that one evening while I was running myself a bath. And it started with the cold foot. I was running myself a bath, and before I got in, I did what I always do. I tested the water with my foot. It felt warm enough, so I climbed in. But once I got in, the water felt cooler than I expected. That's when I realized my foot had been cold when I tested it. So of course, the water felt warm against it. And almost immediately I felt the Holy Spirit whisper, perception doesn't always equal reality. That water felt warm to me because my foot was cold. And I began to wonder, what happens spiritually when we're the ones who have gotten cold? Could we begin to feel comfortable in an environment that really isn't warm at all? Could things that once troubled our spirits begin to feel normal? Could compromise become easier to accept? And could we become so accustomed to the temperature around us that we no longer recognize how far it is from the truth of God's word? Maybe the question isn't just what's the temperature around me? Maybe I also need to ask, what's the temperature within me? And that's what makes Jesus' words to the church at Laodicea so sobering. In Revelation 3, Jesus says, I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot, because you are lukewarm. We usually focus on their temperature, but there's something else in this passage that I think is just as sobering. They didn't know they were lukewarm. Listen to how they saw themselves. I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing. They thought they were doing just fine. But Jesus said, You do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Their assessment of themselves was completely different from his. And there are four words in Jesus' response that I don't want us to miss. You do not know. They didn't recognize their own condition. And maybe that's one of the greatest dangers of becoming lukewarm. You can be lukewarm and think you're doing just fine. And that makes me wonder, is it possible to drift spiritually and not realize how far we've drifted? To become less sensitive to the Holy Spirit and not recognize it? To become comfortable with things we once would have questioned. To still go to church, still read our Bible, still pray, still know all the right words, and yet not recognize that something in our hearts has changed. Laodicea reminds us that the answer is yes. And that's why we need more than self-examination. We need to be willing to let Jesus examine us. Because I can compare myself to the people around me and think I'm doing pretty well. I can compare myself to the culture and feel downright hot, but neither one is the standard. Christ is. And maybe that's the humility Jesus is asking of us here. To be willing to admit there may be things about my own heart that I don't know. Lord, show me what I can't see about myself. Show me where I've become comfortable. Show me where I've drifted. Before I start pointing at the temperature of the world around me, I need to be willing to let Jesus tell me the temperature of my own heart. But once I'm willing to let Jesus examine the temperature within me, I also need to pay attention to what is shaping me. Because none of us lives in isolation. Every day we're surrounded by messages telling us what is true, what is good, who we are, what we should value, what we should pursue. And when we hear those messages long enough, they can start to sound normal. That's the danger of acclamation. It usually doesn't happen because one day we decide that God's word doesn't matter anymore. It happens slowly. Something that once made us uncomfortable doesn't seem quite as uncomfortable anymore. Something that once troubled our spirit becomes something we watch for entertainment. Something we once recognized as sin begins to seem harmless. And compromise can even begin to look like compassion. The truth hasn't changed. We've just gotten used to the temperature. Jesus knew we would live in a world that didn't share his values. In John 17, as he prayed for his disciples, he didn't ask the Father to take them out of the world. He prayed that the Father would keep them while they were in it. And then he prayed, Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. I love that. Jesus didn't tell us to run from the world, he sent us into it. We are called to love people, to serve people, to carry the hope of Jesus into dark places, but we can't allow the culture we've been sent into to become the standard by which we decide what is true. Because when our hearts become accustomed to the temperature around us, we can lose our ability to recognize how far that temperature is from the Word of God. Culture cannot be our thermometer for truth. Popularity can't be our thermometer. Acceptance can't be our thermometer. Even what feels loving or compassionate to us can't be our thermometer. Jesus already told us what is. Your word is truth. And if we're going to live in this world without becoming like it, then we have to keep coming back to the truth. Not asking God's word to adjust to the temperature around us, but allowing his word to keep adjusting us. And this is where it becomes even more serious. Because once we become comfortable adjusting truth to fit the world around us, it isn't a very big step to begin adjusting the gospel to. Paul warned the Galatian Church about this. He said, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel. Paul immediately makes something clear. There isn't another gospel. What they were hearing was a distortion of it. And that warning matters just as much for us today. Because if we can get used to the temperature around us, eventually we can become comfortable with the version of the gospel that has adjusted to that temperature too. Something can sound Christian and still not be the gospel. We can talk about love, grace, blessing, purpose, even Jesus, and still leave out the very things that make the good news good news. Because if there is no sin, why do we need a Savior? If there is no repentance, what are we turning from? If there is no cross, what paid the price for our sin? If there is no resurrection, where is our hope? And if following Jesus never requires surrender, then who are we really following? The gospel was never meant to simply affirm the life I'm already living. Jesus came to give me a new one. Paul said in Romans 1 16, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. The gospel is not ineffective, it is the power of God to save. But if we remove the parts that make us uncomfortable, soften the parts that culture finds offensive, and reshape Jesus into someone who agrees with everything we already believe, what we're left with may sound like good news, but it isn't the gospel. A gospel we've rewritten to make ourselves comfortable isn't the gospel at all. And it can't save us. And maybe we've been asking the wrong thing to change. Romans 12 2 says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The gospel doesn't need to adjust to us. We need to allow the gospel to transform us, to change the way we think, to change what we desire, to change how we live, to change what we call true. Because Jesus isn't asking us to make his truth comfortable in the world we live in. He's inviting us to let his truth make us more like him. So let's go back to that bathtub for a moment. I put my foot in the water and I trusted what I felt. And I wonder how often we do the same thing spiritually. We trust what feels right, what seems normal, what everyone around us accepts. Sometimes even what other Christians are doing. But what if we stopped and asked, what have I been using to determine what is true? Is it how I feel? What I've experienced? What the culture around me says is acceptable? Or am I allowing the Word of God to be my standard? And maybe there's an even more personal question. Is there anything I've gotten used to? Something that once troubled my spirit but doesn't anymore? Something I once recognized as compromise that I've slowly become comfortable with. Maybe I've been sitting in a certain temperature for so long that I don't even notice it anymore. So instead of trying to answer all of those questions ourselves, maybe our prayer today is simply, Holy Spirit, show me what I've gotten used to. Show me where I've allowed what is normal around me to become normal within me, and bring me back to the truth of your word. Maybe as you've been listening today, the Holy Spirit has already put his finger on something. Maybe there's an area where you've slowly gotten used to something that you know doesn't line up with the Word of God. You don't have to stay there. Come back to His Word. Come back to Jesus. And maybe what you've heard about Jesus has never really been the gospel at all. The gospel is the good news that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. He took our sin upon himself. He died on the cross, and he rose again. And because he lives, we can be forgiven. We can be made new. We can have eternal life in him. Jesus invites us to repent, to turn from our sin and believe in him, to surrender our lives and follow him. And if you've never done that, you can respond to him right now. You don't have to have everything figured out. Just come to Jesus. Jesus gives us a new life. Let's pray. Father, thank you for loving us enough to show us the things we can't always see in ourselves. Search our hearts today. Show us where we become comfortable with things that don't line up with your word. Forgive us for the times we've allowed what is common around us to become the standard for what is true. Renew our minds through your word. Help us to recognize your truth and give us the courage to stand on it, even when it's different from what the world around us says is true. Holy Spirit, keep our hearts tender and sensitive to your voice. We want to know you. We want to follow you. And we want our lives to be surrendered to you. In the name of Jesus, amen. It's such a simple thing. I put my foot in the water, it felt warm, and I trusted what I felt. But that ordinary moment has stayed with me. Because there are so many voices around us telling us what should feel normal. And if we hear them long enough, we can get used to almost anything. So I don't want to simply ask whether something feels right to me. I want to know what God says is true. I want his word to shape what I call true, what I call good, what I call acceptable. And I want to stay close enough to Jesus that I notice when something that once troubled my spirit begins to feel normal. And today's closing whisper to carry with you is this Have I gotten used to the temperature? Thanks for spending this time with me on Wilder Whispers. I hope today's story reminded you that God is closer than we often realize and that he's still speaking, even in the ordinary moments of life. Whispers are the language of closeness. They invite us to lean in. As you go about your day, whether you're working, resting, driving, or just trying to catch your breath, stay attentive. God is not far away. He's not silent. He's near, and he's speaking. Until next time, keep listening. This is Wilder Whispers, and I'm Shay Wood.