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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Life can be tough.
My husband doesn’t help me. He is not present or available to the kids. We are better off without him during deployments. If He’s not here, we can’t expect anything of him. Work and friends have a higher priority than his family. Financially, his decisions are ruining us. I don’t feel secure in his love for us.
In the raging battle for stable families, what happens in the home affects all of us. Single with married friends, active duty single parent, married with or without children, divorced with or without children: we have a bird’s eye view, a front row seat, or are in the battle ourselves. The struggles are real, and the outcomes are significant. As individuals and as a community of faith, what is our response to the deep and wide heartbreak that surrounds us? Believers are empowered to do good works, which God ordained for us before the world began (Ephesians 2:10). How are we wielding our power?
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh.” ~Acts 2:17
Has He done it? Has God poured out His Spirit? The evidence that God’s Spirit is poured out may not be obvious to the naked eye, but the faithful can see it. Evil is restrained. Hope is alive. Men and women are being made new as they call on the name of the Lord. This is my testimony to God’s work among us. I am transformed, my eyes can see, my ears can hear, and my heart is soft and open.
As the season of giving thanks and rejoicing in the birth of Christ approach, we are mindful that many are lonely, grieving, or enduring health, financial, or relational storms. As I play my “holiday” music, prepare my Thanksgiving table, and adorn my Christmas tree – it is too easy to believe all is right with the world. But the world is my neighbor whose marriage is failing, the family of the hurting boy in my child’s fourth grade class, the PWOC sister with a special needs child and no relief, and the widow whose adult children have their own plans.
In community Christ often gives strength for the battle and courage to stand another day. Through the Spirit’s power we are equipped for:
Prayer: On our knees we cry out to God for those who are weak, poor, lost, abandoned, or afraid.
Presence: We show up, so that those in the battle know we see them and support them.
Proclamation: We keep the Word alive and fresh in us. We come equipped with a timely word of truth and encouragement to uplift and direct the hurting to Christ.
Provision: We offer Christ what is in our hands. It is His, and we offer it back, asking Him to show us how to meet needs without enabling, how to live generously not selfishly.
So what is our response to the deeply-felt needs around us? Put into practice this fruit of the Spirit: LOVE.
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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!
