Welcome to Wilco Wednesday! If you are a new around these parts, “Wilco” is Army-speak for “Will Comply.” Think of it as saying “Roger, God. Got it. Will do.” So that is what Wednesday here at 7 Days Time is all about– exploring his decrees and seeking guidance for what complying with Him looks like in everyday life. The best part? He loves us for who we are, not what we do. Remember: He doesn’t want perfection, just obedience. Share. Enjoy. Interact. Welcome a very Godly, loving woman, my friend Bobbie.
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“You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red sea.” ~Nehemiah 9:9
The poet Langston Hughes writes, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” As my eyes, ears, and heart are open to people around me the sense that many feel overlooked by God comes through clearly. The affliction and struggles of this life lead some to conclude that God is not present or that He does not care. Even believers, besieged by trial and pain, may be tempted to believe that God does not see them or has overlooked them.
Single not by choice
Divorced
Failing Marriage
Childless
Chronic sickness or pain
Lonely
Financial Challenges
Loss of security, love, a loved one
Betrayed by adult children’s choices
Many people struggle to believe deeply and truly that God loves them and has good plans for their lives. Nehemiah, among others, reminds us that God does see and hear us. God is both aware of and moved by our distress. Israel’s situation (Temple rebuilt but no worship, Jerusalem’s city walls in rubble, and those returned from captivity scattered throughout Judah, surrounded by enemies) was due to their own repeated rebellion and stubborn disobedience.
Yet, God never took His eyes off them. He took notice of their situation and took action to restore Jerusalem’s walls under Nehemiah and to reinstate worship under Ezra.
God delivered a people, His nation, but does He have regard for individuals? Is He stirred with compassion for the cries of a single woman or a childless wife or a child with disabilities and the family who loves him?
Yes! Yes! Leah was unloved (Gen 29:33-35); Rachel was loved but childless (Gen 30:22-23); Hannah was tormented by another woman (1 Sam 1:6-8); the woman with an issue of blood was weak and cast out (Matt 9:20-22); the widow of Zarapheth was impoverished (1 Ki 17:12,15-16); the widow’s child dies (1 Ki 1717-23). The Bible is not silent about suffering and devastation, AND it speaks loudly of the compassion of our “great, mighty, and awesome God” who keeps covenant and shows mercy (Ne 9:32). Our troubles do not seem small to Him.
If we have difficulty seeing this side of God in our hard places of struggle, spend time studying His attributes and examining biblical accounts of his relationship with individuals. Watch how God initiates, pursues, sustains, and accompanies those He loves, promising never to leave or abandon them. For starters, though, consider the intimate love the Father expresses toward each of us. The Scripture says:
- He is the living God who sees me (Gen 16:13)
- He bottles my tears, that none fall unnoticed to the ground (Ps 56:8)
- He has engraved my name on His hand so that my life is ever before Him ( )
- He is my hiding place and my strong tower (Ps 119:114 & 61:3)
- He formed my inward parts in my mother’s womb (Ps 139:13)
- He comprehends my path, my lying down, my rising, my going in and out (Ps 139:3)
- He knows my thoughts, and He is always thinking about me (Ps 139:4, 17-18)
What comes first: belief or hope? Believe the truth about God and be set free by it. Begin to perceive and define your circumstance by the truth of God’s love for you, and watch light dawn and hope rise in your heart. Overlooked by God? Emphatically, No! He is with you in your trial, present in your storm, and holding you in times of devastation.
God met Hagar in her wilderness. Pregnant and running from her mistress’s mistreatment, Hagar must have believed that no one cared, no one would speak for or protect her, and certainly God would not take notice of her situation. She was wrong. “Then Hagar called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Gen 16:13
Yes. He is the God who sees, who takes notice of you. Look for Him in your condition. He Is There.
We welcome you thoughts and feedback. Join the conversation and leave a comment.
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Writer, Editor, Consultant, and Conference Speaker, Bobbie Simpson is a seasoned high school English teacher, women’s Bible study teacher, parent of three adult children and grandparent of three.
Married 36 years to her husband Larry, a 27 year Air Force Officer , she credits the success of her marriage to the “cord of three, which is not easily broken.” Faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation that drives her passion for marriages that thrive, singleness with satisfaction, and parenting with purpose.
For the past seven years Bobbie has written and facilitated spouses’ and couples’ conferences for Spiritually Smart Family Conferences, a ministry that she and her husband founded under the auspices of Officer’s Christian Fellowship. Bobbie is ardent about the health and success of military marriages and homes.
Linking up today with my friend Kristin over at Three-word Wednesday and having a little Coffee for your Heart with Holley. Oh! And be sure to join our #EverydayJesus link-up community right here at 7 Days Time every Thursday!
