Hello, I’m January
Inspiration and thoughts on God and faith, written by a simple human, navigating life through the messy and sometimes chaotic.
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Promises of God: He Hears You
And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. 1 John 5:14-15
It’s one of the questions I have asked over and over for many years: “Why do I continue to pray?” Now that may seem strange. I know we are called to pray, however, I also know that we often expect answers right away. We pray because we expect God to come to our rescue immediately, and we want to see the results of our endless pleas to Him.
But what if we don’t? What if we offer pleas to Him and we don’t see the fruits of this labor? Do we stop?
I have often wanted to. To stop praying for people. Sometimes it’s hurt that drives this desire. Often it’s just because I’m tired of waiting for God to show up. I even have stopped for a time. Stopped pleading with God to break chains and begin to move in those lives. Until he pokes me again to start. Gently reminding me…I may be the only one pleading on their behalf.
I often wonder why God burdens me, until I realize prayer isn’t a burden, it’s a calling. And it’s one He knows I take seriously. He knows I will continue to do so, so he nudges me each time I want to quit. Reminding me of the things for which I should be asking. Those things He has promised to do.
I pray for your healing, that circumstances would change. I pray that the fear inside would flee in Jesus name. I pray that a breakthrough would happen today. I pray miracles over your life in Jesus name. In Jesus name. -Katy Nichole
I pray they turn from wicked ways. Become a good and holy people.
I pray no one would perish.
Because these are all things God desires.
Pray. Even if it hurts. Even if you don’t see the outcome right away, years from now, or in this lifetime. Pray. Because, “since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” 1 John 5:15. He is a promise keeper, and will answer in HIS time.
And I pray, because I like to believe that someone once did pray these very same things for me.
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Promises of God: Trust
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you. Psalm 9:10According to Psychology Today, the number one reason relationships fail? Trust. Well, lack of trust. I could go into all the reasons for this, but I have a story instead.
When I first learned to swim, it was one summer when I was about 7 or 8. We used to spend summers in Colonial Beach, which is a bit past Fredericksburg, Virginia; on the Northern Neck Peninsula. I remember spending a week on the boardwalk, and also in the deep end of the pool, learning to doggy paddle and swim underwater.
This later transitioned to swimming with reckless abandon in the Potomac with my brother, with countless jellyfish. Until we upgraded to the ocean.
No worries about what dangers lurked underneath. No fear. Trusting our legs would carry us back to the surface, and the waves would not take us under.
But now? Oh, I still enjoy the pool. Because I can see what is under my feet. I enjoy the ocean. The sound. The sun. The feel of the breeze as it blows over the water. But I will NOT be getting in those waters. Because I know what lurks there. My youngest has watched enough Shark Week to keep me from EVER jumping in those waves again. I have got trust issues when it comes to the ocean. Irrational fears of sharks, and other things that may get me and take me out.
I prefer to stay on the sand now. Where it is nice and safe. Because out there in the deep end, where I can’t see what lies ahead? That is scary. Unpredictable. I don’t trust that if I stick my toe in those deep, scary waters that something wont get me, or I won’t sink.
Trust in the unknown is scary now. Why was it so much easier as a kid?
The world had not tainted me. Yet. No one had failed me. Yet. No one had disappointed me or left me. Yet. Broken my trust. Fed me a big fat lie. Taught me that life was dark and scary. That no one was throwing me a life preserver, or could even be trusted. Yet.
I was hopeful. Full of faith. Until I wasn’t. Until I put my hope and faith in people.
It is the people and the world, and the weight of those that have drowned me. That have taken away the reckless abandon I had as a kid. That keep me worried about the darkness that still lurks, or the things that may reach out, bite me, or consume me.
But it is God who tells me He has got me. Nothing is going to overtake me. There is no darkness out in those waters that I should fear. Nothing too murky for Him to see, and even if I can’t see what is underneath my feet-He does.
Yet, we continue to put our hope in people. Things. Institutions. Wealth. These things that tell us who to be. That are all to unpredictable. That won’t catch us if we drown. That convince us we are not good enough, and if we fall, will often leave to pick ourselves back up. Until we are too fearful to jump into the deep end just to see if we can actually swim out there in the unknown.
We are fearful of all the things we can’t even see.
Until we remember who we can truly trust, and where our protection comes from. Who will not leave us drowning. Whose presence will always be with us in the deep end.
I don’t have to fear what lurks ahead. He knows. He knows where my feet will wander, and He won’t let me fall. He knows the waves may get rough. There may be darkness, but His presence is before me and beside me, helping me to stay above the waves, and to see light through it all.
To keep my faith strong when it starts to waver. To trust in Him when people and the world disappoint.
Trust. Even in the unknown. Unpredictable. Scary. Confident that His plans for me are good. In the waves. On the shore, and in the deep end, He won’t let me be taken under. I can keep jumping in as long as I put my trust in Him.
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Promises of God: A New Path
The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” Psalm 32:8
I love to read. I love to write. Written words are often easier for me than those spoken, and all through school I looked forward to English classes. Well, until it was time to study poetry. The process of breaking out words, stanzas, and trying to articulate what the poet was trying to convey? I just didn’t get it. Because a whole glob of feelings and experiences could be written on those short lines. The poet chose those for these reasons, and my literal interpretation could often be way off from its original intent.
Like this one:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost
This poem is well-known. Perhaps it’s the depiction and pictures often laid out alongside this one that come to mind first. A fork in a clearing. Two paths. Oh, which one to take? The pictures and Frost’s words always made me visualize the difference between walking on a well-worn path. One filled with lots of people. Or choosing the one that is overgrown and rocky. No one usually chooses the rocky one. The well-worn path is easier to navigate. There are people along the way on that first one. It has been walked before, and there are no signs of danger. It’s just easier.
When reading these words presently, I think of two other paths. The one the world chooses, and the path of God.
We can often stand at a fork in the “road.” Stand in the midst of our spiritual path, and wonder which way to go. Do we choose the path that is easiest? The one that promises riches, success, and fame? The one that is easy to fall in line with and navigate because so many have walked it before? Or do we choose the one filled with rocks? It doesn’t always offer a quick way out, or a get it fast solution. It is filled with directions that can be seen by the world as rigid or intolerable.
It’s the one often less traveled by, and it does make all the difference. The best part is our guide is along for the journey, offering us directions to navigate the rocks, hills, and valleys along the way. If we are willing to choose this path, He gives us a guidebook to help us walk along it. And if we stumble over a few rocks, He provides us the way to get back up.
If you are walking along that easier path, still stumbling, surrounded by lots of people but still lost. No one to guide you. Maybe it is time to choose the one less traveled by. There are people along this one, too. Who can point you to the instructions God has laid out for our walk in the Bible. And God himself, He will take your hand and guide you along the way.
It will make all the difference.
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Promises of God: Design and Purpose
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5, NLTToday we are once again in the book of Jeremiah. Right at the very beginning when Jeremiah is called by God to be His prophet to Judah.
Jeremiah’s response? “I’m too young. No way I can do this!”
Excuses. Excuses. Excuses. When God calls us to something, too often we make excuses for why we may not be capable, and Jeremiah was no exception.
Though given an important task-to provide warning and move the Israelites towards repentance-and though chosen by God-Jeremiah struggled throughout much of his assignment. He was God’s voice, but no one listened. He urged people to act, but no one moved. He was poor, thrown into prison, rejected by his family and people, and did not see God’s prophesy fulfilled in His time.
He thought he was failing. God thought he was a victor. Because Jeremiah moved in his purpose and did what God called him to do.
Jeremiah believed in the promise provided to him-that God not only designed him for this, but that God would be with him, protect him, and give him the words to speak (v. 8-9).
We have a calling, too. God designed this calling for us long ago when He designed us. When the time is right to fulfill it, God will be with us, protect us, give us words to equip us.
When we do what God has purposed, we are never failing, only victorious.
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Promises of God: Seek and You Will Find
“If you look for me wholeheartedly you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:13
Yesterday I dived into that often used verse in Jeremiah 29, the one promising a hope and a future. The words in verse 11 are true, but there is so much in the entire chapter that is missed when we simply focus on that one verse. Yes, that 11th verse holds so much peace and hope, but today’s promise is just as powerful. But we often miss it because we don’t read far enough.
It’s true. God delivered His people to become captives in Babylonia, but He did not forget them. They were captives for 70 years, but they were not abandoned. Though it certainly may have felt that way.
Think about it…in times of trial it may be difficult to find God in it. We may wonder if He is even there at all. We may believe He has left us. We may call to Him, hear nothing in response, and believe He is not listening to our cries. In those moments we may even stop crying to Him. We reach out to the world instead. In our desperation we seek answers elsewhere.
And we come up empty.
In times of sorrow and pain, it may appear God has left. It may appear He is distant or that He doesn’t hear our pleas at all, but this isn’t the case.
He hasn’t left. He is still in the midst. We can call on Him knowing He will answer in His time, and confident that though this season may be painful it’s necessary for our growth. For our faith to become stronger. For our relationship with Him to flourish.
Seek Him. He is there. He is listening. You may not get the answer you want. You may not hear Him right away. But you can be assured He hasn’t left you. Seek Him, and you will find Him.
About Me
I am January! Wife, mother, meemaw, pastor, and mental health provider who makes it through the day with my coffee, my journal, and my God; and I am also on some days a hot mess. A simple human, navigating life through the messy and sometimes chaotic.
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