Walk Boldly With Jesus

Hope in the Waiting - Day 24 - Can I Still Have Joy While I Wait?
Habakkuk 3:17-18 “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
Talk about a bad day.  This verse is from a time when the people relied very heavily on crops and animals for survival.  This verse states that they have reached rock bottom.  That nothing is going right for them.  If their crops are not producing any food and they have no meat in their stalls, then not only do they have nothing to eat, but they also have nothing to barter with.  Have you ever felt this low?  Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t really imagine it getting any worse?  That is where this person was when they wrote this.  Even if you haven’t been in a situation this dire before, I am sure you can imagine how they must have felt.  
Please take a minute and try to put yourself in their shoes.  Close your eyes and imagine you are walking through your fields.  You look from vine to vine just praying for some grapes that you may have missed, or that miraculously grew overnight, but you find nothing.  Now imagine you are walking by your fig tree.  This tree that was once full of figs is now empty.  Next, you walk through the olive crops and pray that there will be some source of food, but again, you find nothing.  You think, at least you have your animals to provide you with food.  However, when you go past the sheep pen, there are none.  When you walk through the cattle stalls, they too are empty.  You realize you have nothing; you have somehow lost it all.  What are you feeling right now?  What are you thinking?  How do you think you would react?  Would you be angry at God?  Would you blame Him for not providing for you?  

I am not sure how I would feel or what I would think, but I do not think that my first thought would be to rejoice in the Lord.  The verse says, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”  I am thinking that I would struggle to find anything to be joyful about.  I am joyful in God my Savior.  He is amazing, and I love Him so much.  However, when I am at my worst, I am not sure that I would think of that.  I do think I would turn to Him.  I believe I would ask God for His help and for the strength and courage to make it through this difficult time.  But would I rejoice in the Lord?
Honestly, I can’t picture it.  I can’t picture how that would work.  I do know that when life is going against us, and we can’t see a way out, that is the perfect time to praise the Lord.  We don’t have to see the way out.  We can praise the Lord for being so awesome that He can see a way out even when we can’t.  We don’t have to praise Him for the situation; we can praise Him for who He is and for what He does for us.  
Ok, so now that I am writing this, I am starting to see how this could work.  I guess we wouldn’t have to rejoice in being in this dire situation, but we could rejoice that God was in it with us.  However, would we think to do this?  Would it occur to us when the chips are down that we should rejoice and praise the Lord?  My first thought is no, not without someone reminding us, or without some practice ahead of time.  Several things I have been reading over the last few years have been saying that the best thing you can do when you are struggling is to praise the Lord.  The fastest way out of a difficult situation is to praise the Lord while you are still in it, even when all seems lost.  So then, how do we do this?  How do we try to practice ahead of time so that when we really need to remember this, we can?  
I have a couple of suggestions, some you may have heard before.  Some I probably even mentioned before on this podcast.  However, I think that’s how God works.  He tells us something again and again until we get it.  My first suggestion would be practicing gratitude.  When you are focused on being grateful for things, you can’t also be feeling sorry for yourself or feeling miserable at the same time.  Even if you can find just one small thing to be grateful for.  For instance, you have to go to a funeral, and you are really sad, but you can be grateful that the weather is at least holding out for you.  Or maybe the weather had been raining all day, but on the way to the cemetery, the rain stopped, and now you can see a rainbow.  I promise you, no matter how bad things are, there is at least one small thing you can be grateful for.  Practice finding that thing, focusing on it, and thanking God for it.  I promise if you give this a try, you will find more joy in your life.
Another suggestion would be to find a few verses that talk about praising the Lord, or rejoicing in the Lord, and either memorize them or post them around your house where you will see them often.  You could put one on your mirror so you see it every time you look in the mirror.  Or, maybe on your fridge, so you read it every time you get something out of the refrigerator.  You could put a note like that on the lock screen of your phone, so when you look at your phone, it reminds you to praise the Lord or rejoice.  Why should you do this now, when everything seems to be going well?  First, if you can get in the habit of praising God all the time, when times are good and when times are bad, I think you will see less and less of the bad times.  I think God loves to reward his children for appreciating Him and thanking Him.  Second, if you don’t intentionally get into the habit when things are going good, and it feels easier to praise the Lord and to rejoice, then the chances are a lot less likely that you will do it when everything feels hard.  
Another suggestion is to listen to praise music.  I think many of us listen to music.  Maybe it's when you are driving the car, cooking dinner, cleaning the house, whatever the reason, most of us listen to music.  What I am suggesting is that some of the music you listen to is praise music.  What you listen to affects your mood.  You could be in a perfectly good mood, and then an angry song comes on the radio, and if you don’t change the channel, you can notice yourself starting to get in a bad mood.  If kids listen to a lot of rap music, they may start to feel negatively towards the police for no other reason than the lyrics that they are constantly listening to are telling them that the police are bad.  Those are examples of how music can negatively affect your mood, but the opposite is true as well.  You can be in a really bad mood, and then an upbeat song can come on the radio, and your mood can change for the better.  If you are listening to praise music about how great God is, then those will be the thoughts flowing through your head.  The music can not only change your mood, but it can also change your outlook on life or your current circumstances.  
Some of my friends are really struggling right now.  When all seems lost, it can take a daily or sometimes hourly reminder to praise God in the struggle.  Praise God for any slight sign of improvement.  Praise God for the things that do go right in the day.  Maybe you got up, and everything seemed to go wrong.  But, you know what?  You got up that day, and not everyone can say that.  You are able to walk, and not everyone can say.  There is always something you can praise God for.  Try your best to focus on those things and just keep turning over the other things to God and trust that He will take care of them for you.  It is not easy to praise God and to rejoice when all seems lost; however, it is possible. If you take the time to learn how to praise God, even in the difficult times, I think you will be amazed at how different you feel.  I think you will be amazed at how much more at peace you will feel, even when it feels like things can’t get any worse.  Give it a try, what do you have to lose?
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you pray for everyone listening to this episode today. Dear Lord, we ask that you help us to praise you. You do so much for us, and we don't deserve any of it. You don't do it for any other reason than the fact that you love us completely. Lord help us to see all the things that we can rejoice about, even when we're struggling. Jesus shines a light on all the things we have to be grateful for when we can't see them. Lord, it must be difficult for you when you see us struggling. We ask that you help us through the struggle, that you help us lean into you and praise you for all that you do for us.  Sometimes we feel like all is lost and that there is nothing anyone can do to change the situation. And you know what, that may be true. But you are not anyone, Lord God; you are the Lord of lords and the King of kings.  There isn't anything that you can't do. Help us to remember this, Lord. Help us to rejoice when all seems lost because nothing is too big for our God to fix. We love you, lord; you are so amazing, and we are so very grateful for you and all that you do. We thank you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus' holy name, amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I can't tell you how happy I am to have you along for the journey. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! 
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I am the Lord your God. There is no other. Come to me, my children. I speak to you in the silence of your heart. Listen carefully to my instructions.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Hope in the Waiting - Day 23 - Praise While You Wait
Acts 16:25-28 “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly, there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
This story actually begins a few verses before this. In Acts 16:16-24 it says, “Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”  She kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!” At that moment, the spirit left her.  When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.  They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar  by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.  After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.  When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.”
This is where our verse takes place.  They have been beaten with rods and are now chained up in prison.  You would think after a day like that they would feel defeated.  You would think that they would be questioning God and asking Him why they have to suffer so much when they are just doing what He asked them to do.  You might also think that they were passed out in pain and sleeping.  Is this what they were doing?  No, the verse says it was midnight, and they were still praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  This is something that always amazes me about the apostles and other believers in the faith, such as the Saints.  I am always amazed by their strength.  I know that God underwent extreme suffering in the 24 hours before He was crucified.  He sweated drops of blood. If that is not suffering, I don’t know what is.  And yet, I think we can downplay it sometimes and think, well, He is fully God and fully human, so of course He can withstand it; he is God.  However, countless other Saints have gone through extreme suffering and have done it with joy.  
Paul & Silas had just been beaten with rods, and yet they were not questioning God. They were praising and singing to Him.  This is something that I think we can hear sometimes and not pause and think about how truly amazing it is.  I don’t know if we glaze over it because we don’t understand it or because we don’t think we are capable of it.  I don’t know the reason, but I wanted to pause and take a moment to recognize how remarkable these two are for how they endured their suffering.  We could all learn a lot from them and how they lived not only when times were good but also when times were tough.  
The verse says that at midnight, while they were praying and praising, they were set free.  The door opened, and their chains came loose.  What strikes me about this verse is that they were set free yet did not leave.  They stayed there until morning, when the guard woke up.  What I hear the Lord saying to me about this verse is that everything He does is for His glory and the good of His kingdom.  If Paul & Silas had left at midnight, they could have escaped.  However, it would not have been known how they escaped.  People could have said that someone broke in and freed them.  God would not have gotten the Glory.  However, by waiting until morning, they not only converted the guard and his whole house to believers, but they were also set free and did not have to worry about being caught for escaping.
Sometimes, the things we are going through or the things others are going through make no sense to us.  If we had been there in that jail cell, it would have made no sense to us that when they were freed, they didn’t leave the cell.  I can’t imagine sitting in that cell and just waiting for the jailer to wake up when we could have escaped and been hours away by the time the jailer woke up.  Luckily, Paul and Silas were good at listening to the Lord and trusting in Him.  They were not scared in that jail cell.  They praised the Lord and trusted that the Lord would get them out of the situation.  They were patient and waited on the Lord’s timing, and by doing so, they saved the jailer and his whole family.  
Do you see how if the apostles left at midnight, they would have escaped and would have been free?  Do you also see that they did not leave at midnight, yet they were still free?  We never know how God will work things out for us.  Sometimes, we can only see things in black and white.  We can see only two choices.  For instance, we could see that if we left the cell when the door was opened, then we would be free.  However, if we stay there, then we would be stuck in jail forever.  Sometimes, we are so angry, upset, scared, and afraid that we can’t see all the possibilities.  We only see the two.  Sometimes, we may not see all the options because we have limited information, whereas God has all the information He would ever need.  It seems as though the apostles waited for God to tell them what to do next.  They trusted that God would take care of it even though they didn’t know what would happen next.  
This may be the same in some circumstances in our lives, too.  We may not understand why God asks us to wait a little longer.  We know God can save us now, but we don’t understand why He isn’t.  We don’t understand why we are going through all of this in the first place.  Maybe God is using this thing you are going through to save someone else.  Maybe by watching your strength in the face of your situation, someone will decide to give God a try.  Maybe after watching how you were saved from your circumstances, someone else has also decided to be saved.  We don’t know what God’s plan is or why He does what He does.  There is one thing that we can be sure of, and that is that God has a plan, and He has a reason for everything.  God can use all things for His glory.  We may think that some things are a coincidence.  However, if you look back over the last 5 or 10 years of your life, I bet you will see how those things you felt were coincidences were actually things that God timed out perfectly for a specific reason.  It is amazing to me how detailed God’s plan is.  He has every tiny detail planned out.  
The next time we get tired of waiting for our suffering to end, maybe we can remember this verse, pray, and praise him even when we are struggling.  We can remember that if He has not saved us yet, it is for a reason and that a greater good will come from our situation.  I know that doesn’t always make it easier for us when we are in the moment.  However, I felt God wanted me to share with you that even when we don’t know His plan and don’t understand it, we should still know that He has a plan, and it is for our good and the good of his whole church.  
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today.  We ask that you give us the strength of Paul and Silas when we suffer.  Lord, we ask that you give us the strength and the wisdom to pray and sing praises to you when we are suffering.  Help us know that you have a plan even when we don’t see or understand it.  Help us to know that we are never suffering in vain.  You will always use our suffering for your glory.  We love you, Lord, and thank you for all you do for us.  You are amazing, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and Jesus’ holy name. Amen.  
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk Boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My ways are higher than your ways. Trust me. I know what is best for you. Trials may seem difficult, but I use them to transform you. I will hold you by the hand through them. I will never let you go. Trust me.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Hope in the Waiting - Day 22 - Thank God Before The Answer Comes
Psalm 3: “Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.”
Yesterday, I was listening to the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a Year podcast with Father Mike. He was talking about this Psalm. He was talking about how usually we are good at thanking God and trusting God when things are going really well in our lives. We thank God for giving us the answers to our prayers. We thank him when things go our way and when we are seeing success. However, how often do we praise Him, thank Him, and trust Him in the hard times? 
David and God have a very intimate relationship. God chose David to be king when he was a very young boy. Even before he was chosen, David knew how powerful the Lord was. He used this knowledge to kill a giant named Goliath. He knew God was more powerful than anything on this earth. David was a great king most of the time, although he made some pretty bad choices as well. He was not a great father, and at one point, he was on the run from his son Absalom. It was at this point that David wrote this Psalm of Thanksgiving. 
It wasn’t when he was safe in his castle, and God was giving him everything he wanted. It wasn’t when his armies were conquering all the other nations. It was when his own son was trying to kill him. He was fleeing his castle, his land, and his people, all so he could remain alive. This is when David wrote this Psalm. This is what David was saying about God when he was in trouble.
What do we say about God and to God when we are struggling or when we are in trouble? What about when our child is sick, and it feels like we haven’t had any prayers answered in quite some time? Are we still talking about how God is our protector? What about when we have been out of work for a long time, and there is no money coming in? Are we still talking about how God is our provider? How would we react if we were told that we needed to flee the country because a family member wanted us dead? I don’t think we could truly know how we would act until we were in that situation. 
I would love to praise God and say how much he has done for me. I hope to be able to trust that the Lord will get me out of whatever circumstances in which I find myself. Let's take a look at the way David was praising and thanking the Lord. “Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.”
First, David asks the Lord how many enemies he has. How many have risen up against him? Then David explains that these enemies are saying that God will not deliver him this time. I am sure this made God sad. He has saved His people time and time again, and there are some who still doubt that He will show up. David goes on to say, “But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. This is a great part of the verse because it shows us that even though David is running for his life, he still believes that God will protect him. He still believes that God will answer his prayers. 
I wonder if we can say the same. Can we still say that God is our shield when we feel we are under attack? What if it feels like we have been under attack for years now? Do we still believe that the Lord is our shield? Do we still believe that He answers our prayers? Next, David said, “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.” David is showing us here that the Lord is sustaining him. I believe he is also showing us that he knows if he wakes up each day, it is because the Lord willed it. None of us are guaranteed to wake up each day. If we do, it is a gift from the Lord! David knew this. This part also shows us the trust David has in the Lord. He is being chased by an army led by his son. He has tens of thousands of people on every side of him, and yet he does not fear because he knows he has the Lord on his side.
Do you see how strong and fearless we are able to be when we understand the strength of the Lord and when we turn all things over to Him? David knows that God is in control of all things. He trusts God with his whole being, even to the point of death. He knows that if he dies, God has allowed it to happen. He is not afraid of his enemy.
The last part of this Psalm says, “Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.” In this last part, David is asking God to act in a very specific way. He is not just asking for them to be defeated; he is asking for God to strike them in the jaw and break their teeth.  I looked up online if there was a specific significance to this specific request of David. Here is what I found in the article:
“Consider the memorable prayer after which I’ve titled this series of posts: “Break the teeth of the wicked.”  David makes this request twice in the Psalms (3:7; 58:6).  Is David asking God literally to knock out the incisors of the wicked?  Is he hoping that God will deliver a blow to the jaw of the wicked, literally shattering their canines and crushing their molars?  The answer seems obvious.
We must remember that the book of Psalms is poetry.  David is praying in metaphor.  And what does the metaphor of God breaking the teeth of the wicked mean?  It means God takes away the power of the wicked to bite and devour.  Keep them from harming me and others.  Thwart their plans to do violence.  The second instance in which David prays this prayer makes the point particularly clear:
O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! (58:6)
David envisions his enemies as young lions seeking to devour God’s people.  His request is that God would defang these wicked men.  In short, David is appealing to God to stop the wicked.”
As you can see, David trusts the Lord and is able to praise the Lord even in times of great difficulty. What if we tried this? What if, no matter what we were going through, we trusted that God had our best interests at heart? What if we truly believed this? Think about that for a minute. Would it be easier to trust the Lord if you knew without doubt that God had nothing but your best interests at heart? What if instead of being so angry at the Lord, we took some time to praise him in the hard times? Would that change anything? Would we be more equipped to handle the hard times?
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those who listen to this episode. Lord, I pray your blessing on each and every one of them. Lord, we pray that you protect us, and that you love us. We pray that you help us trust you even when times are hard. We pray that you help us praise you even when times are hard. Lord, we love you so much, and we ask all of this in accordance with our will and in Jesus ’ holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Look upwards, my children. The past is gone. You live with me in the now. I am in the now. Your now. Shed no more tears for what was or what should or could have been. It does not appear in the here and now.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Don't Give Up—God Is Still Working
Jeremiah 30:7 “Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be rescued from it.”
What a great promise from the Lord!  Our God is so amazing.  He acknowledges that it was a time of great distress for Jacob, and yet He says Jacob will be rescued from it.  How many of you really need to hear that right now?  How many of you could really use this promise from God right now in your lives?  I know several people who are suffering.  I know they could really use this promise right now.  They could use the promise that they will be rescued from the situation they are in.  They need to know the pain, hurt, and anger they feel won’t last forever. 
It is important to remember God didn’t just make these promises to the people living at the time this was written.  He is making this promise to all of us.  You can take the promises you find in Scripture and apply them to your own life.  God is talking to you just as much as He is talking to the people in the Bible, just as much as He is talking to me, just as much as He is talking to any of us.  Yes, you are in a terrible situation right now, and yet you will be rescued from it.
Maybe you have recently lost someone close to you.  If this has happened to you, I imagine you are feeling a whole range of emotions.  I also imagine your emotions can switch at the drop of a hat.  One minute you are sad, and you really miss them, and the next minute you are angry they are gone.  Sometimes you can be feeling two competing emotions at the same time.  For instance, you can be really sad you don’t get to see them anymore and yet be happy they get to be with Jesus and celebrate the fact they are whole again and no longer suffering.  Whatever you are feeling, let yourself feel it.  Sometimes we can make the situation worse because we tell ourselves we “should” be feeling this way or we “shouldn’t” be feeling that way.  You have a right to feel however you feel.  Allow yourself that grace.  This pain you are feeling won’t last forever.  God will rescue you from it.  
Maybe you are having family issues.  Maybe you’re worried about your children.  You aren’t sure what their future looks like.  You aren’t sure if they are safe.  You know they are making bad choices, and yet you can’t save them from themselves.  This is really hard.  Trust me, I have been through this.  I have had lots of family issues over the years.  I had a marriage that was falling apart.  I had kids that were making bad choices, getting in trouble, and it seemed I couldn’t help them.  I was doing all I could, and nothing was really changing.  I continued to pray; this was the one thing that did make a difference.  I also didn’t give up hope that things would get better.  I knew God was working, and yet I didn’t know how he was working, and I certainly didn’t know when it would be over, when things would finally get better.  If you are in this situation right now, don’t give up.  Keep praying, keep hoping.  I know hope can hurt sometimes.  Hope hurts because it feels as though we are leaving ourselves open to get hurt if it doesn’t happen.  Try to still hope anyway.  God never leaves us hanging.  He will come through; it just won’t be in our time; it will be in His.  I struggled for over 15 years.  I definitely had times when I thought things weren’t ever going to get better.  I had lots of times when I wondered why it had to take this long.  I never got those answers, but I can finally say, after all those years, that I am doing well.  Our family is doing well.  It still feels strange to say because we struggled for so long.  However, I am so very grateful I didn’t give up praying and hoping, and I smile every time someone asks how things are now.  I used to say, “I’m surviving.”  That was the best I could say; now, everything is really good.  Praise God!! 
I went to an event on Friday sponsored by American Needs Fatima.  It was where a replica of the Fatima statue comes and visits a house.  The custodian brings the statue to the house and then takes time to explain all about Fatima and what happened, what Mary asked us to do, what Mary promised us, and answers any questions we had.  During his talk, the custodian of the statue mentioned St. Monica, and I felt as though I was supposed to remind all of you about St. Monica.  St. Monica was a very devout Catholic, and her son, Augustine, wanted nothing to do with her faith.  She did not approve of his lifestyle, and Augustine moved to Rome one night without telling his mom where he was going.  She tried to follow him, and he had already moved on to Milan by the time she got to Rome.  She finally found him, and she prayed unceasingly for his conversion.  Finally, he did get baptized into the faith, along with his best friend and his son, whom he had with a woman he loved but never married.  St. Monica prayed for her son for a very long time.  Augustine was 32 when he finally became a Catholic.  She prayed and cried for at least 17 years before she saw a change.  God will rescue you; don’t give up hope!
God hears your prayers.  Sometimes it seems like God is not working in our lives.  It seems like He does not hear our prayers.  If you have been praying for something for a while now and it hasn’t happened yet, I am sorry.  If you have had unanswered prayers for quite some time now, I know how hard it can be and how easy it is to get frustrated.  I know how painful it is to watch others get their prayers answered and yet yours seem to go unanswered.  I know all of this is hard.  I know it can get harder and harder to believe God hears you.  I assure you, He does.  He has not left you alone; He has not abandoned you.  He is working diligently on rescuing you.  Remember God’s timing isn’t our time.  What is a year to us could be a blink of an eye to God.  Don’t stop praying, don’t stop hoping, don’t give up. God will rescue you just as He rescued Jacob and countless other people before Him.  
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this podcast today.  Lord, we want to believe you hear all of our prayers; please help us.  Lord, some people listening have been waiting on some answers to some pretty big prayers; please help them continue to wait without giving up hope and without giving in to despair.  Fill them with a renewed sense of hope and encouragement that you are working on the situation and help them truly believe you will answer their prayers.  Lord, you are amazing!  You are the resurrection and the life; you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You are our Savior, Lord, and we are so very grateful.  We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I.  Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in January 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “If you give me your hearts, I pour my love into you, and you can do things far differently, far better, far greater than you ever dreamed. Not because you are wonderful, but because I love each of you and all of my children. And because you give me your heart, I give mine to you, and I use you as my conduit of grace and mercy. ”
 

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Hope in the Waiting - Day 20 - I Waited and Waited and Waited
Psalm 40:1 “I waited and waited and waited some more, patiently, knowing God would come through for me. Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry.”
My friend gave me the verse above, and I instantly loved it. I love that it captures our reality at times, and it also really captures the love of the Father. Sometimes, we feel like we are asking and asking the Lord for something, and yet we wait and wait and see no answers to those prayers. Have you been in a season of waiting? Have you been asking the Lord for something, and yet you are still waiting for the answer to those prayers? This can be really hard. We pray to the Lord, and we want Him to help us right away, or at least I do. I really struggle at times with waiting to see the results of my prayers. This is especially true if I am praying over someone for healing. 
I struggle because I know how powerful God is, and I know He can heal anyone at any time. I struggle because I don’t believe he wants to see anyone struggle, and yet He doesn’t heal everyone, and He definitely doesn’t heal everyone the second we pray for healing. So, we end up doing what this verse says: we wait, and we wait, and we wait. Sometimes we wait patiently, as this verse says, and sometimes, not so patiently. It all depends on our circumstances at the time. One thing I like about this verse is that it says I waited patiently because I knew God would come through for me. This is important for us all to remember. God will come through. It is also important to remember that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. 
If I can remember this, I think I could wait more patiently. I need to remember that God knows what He is doing and that His plan is better than my plan. He is the creator of the Universe; of course, His plan is better than my plan. If He is not healing someone right away, there is a reason for it. I don’t have to know that reason I just have to know that HE has one.
One way to remind myself that God has a plan to trust that God will come through is to think back to all the times He has come through in the past.  When did the Lord come through for you? When in the past did you wait on the Lord, and then he answered your prayers? I know for me, He has always come through, and sometimes I ask for some pretty big things. When I asked the Lord to heal my niece and let her live, He did, and we didn’t even have to wait very long. When I asked him to help my son get off of drugs, He did. When I asked Him to take away my dad’s pain, He did. When I asked Him to take away my sister’s pain, He did. When I asked Him to save my marriage, He did. God has come through for us more times than I can count, and this is why I can wait patiently. I know He will always come for me, though. He will always come through for you too! We just have to wait longer than we would like at times.
I love that this verse says, “Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry.” I love this because it shows the Father as a loving father. It shows that He cares about us. It doesn’t just say they finally heard us. I love that it says he bent down and listened to my cry. What I picture is a loving Father who bends down to listen to me cry. He doesn’t just stand there and let our cries go up to his ears. He bends down to show us we have His attention. I just picture Jesus; since we don’t really know what God looks like, I picture Jesus bending down, and I picture us as little children whispering our requests into his ear. Almost like we are telling Him a secret, one that no one knows. 
I love to picture the Father like this. I think if we read more verses like this, we begin to see God as our loving Father instead of this stern Father figure who is judging us and just waiting to call us out on all that we are doing wrong. God loves us, and He wants to answer our prayers. However, like a loving Father, He also knows that when we are asking for something that is not good for us, or that we are not quite ready for. He knows this, so he either gives us something else or waits until we are ready. God is so good!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each and every person listening to this episode today. Lord, help us wait patiently for your timing. Help us to understand that your timing is best. Help us to see that you know what is best for us. Help us to have faith that you will come through for us. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you all here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Keep in my word. My word is your armor. It will help you defeat the enemy. It will guide you. It will help you be a light to others. Keep in My word. That is your armor.“
 

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Hope in the Waiting - Day 19: What Do I Do While I Wait?
Psalm 43:3-4 “Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!  Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.”
I love the idea of the Lord leading us with His light and His truth.  What I like most about it is that His light can cut through any darkness and His truth can cut through any lies, even the ones that we tell ourselves.  These two things are so important for us to remember.  We can start to feel as if our hole is so dark no light will ever get in.  God’s light can always get in.  We have to let it in, though.  We can get in our own way sometimes.  Picture yourself sitting in a room with the shades drawn and the lights off.  You complain that it is so dark you can’t see anything, yet you don’t turn on the light or even open the shades.  We do this to God too.  We sit in our misery, and we don’t invite Him in.  He is knocking at the door, but we are too sad, too upset, too angry, too whatever to open the door.  We don’t let Him in, and then we ask Him where He is.  
One way we might not be letting in His light is by not seeking Him.  God can be found anywhere and everywhere if we are searching.  If we are looking, we can learn to see His light all around us.  However, if we aren’t looking, we won’t see it.  No matter how bright His light is, if you don’t want to see it, you won’t.  You will make every excuse in the book but you won’t recognize God’s light.  The first thing we can do to let the Lord’s light into our lives is we can seek it.  
The next thing we can do is to be around others that can help us see it.  When we are upset, we tend to want to be either alone or surrounded by others who feel similar to us.  We don’t want to watch happy movies or listen to uplifting music.  We want to wallow in our feelings.  This can be okay for a brief time.  Sometimes we really need to let ourselves feel our feelings.  However, we can't stay there.  It should be more of a brief pit stop than an extended stay.  After our brief pit stop, we need to be around others who can help us see the light.  If we don’t have people like that in our immediate circle, we can use uplifting movies, TV shows, or music.   Even being around people filled with the light of the Lord can help lift our mood.  Sometimes they don’t even have to say anything.  You know the person I am talking about.  That friend of yours who brightens your whole day just by being with you.  Maybe it’s your spouse, your parents, your sibling, your best friend- whoever it is. We should all have someone like that in our lives, and when we are in the dark, looking for the light, they are the ones to go to.  Also, if you are not in the darkness right now, maybe you could be the light for someone.  God wants us to share His light with everyone.  Sometimes we need help seeing the light, and sometimes we are the ones to bring that light to others.
When we ask the Lord to send His light to lead us, we're sometimes disappointed with how He does it.  When we ask Him to send His light, what we really mean is for Him to send a floodlight that will light our way for the next 5-10 years.  We want to be able to see from where we are to where we are going. We want to see all the twists and turns. We want to see the finish line now so we know it is safe to follow that light.  This is not how the Lord usually works.  He usually sends His light as a candle or a flashlight.  He lights up your next step or two, and then you are in the dark until you take that next step.  He doesn’t want us to rely on what we can see.  If we could see every step, every twist, every turn, then we wouldn’t be stepping out in faith.  If we faithfully take that next right step that the Lord lit up for us, then He will light up the next step for us.  Your steps might not be too close together either.  You may spend some time waiting in between steps.  This waiting can be hard because we don’t always know how long we will have to wait, and while we wait, we may not hear from God every day.  
I saw a video on YouTube once with Father Mike Schmitz, and he said he is constantly asked, Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Seconds fall like pelting rain, but each drop is known to me. Remember, you are always with me.”
I will put a link to this video in the show notes because it was a quick 6-minute video, and yet he explains it so well.  Basically, what Father Mike explained is that God shows us what He wants us to do one step at a time.  Father Mike said we think we are seeking certainty or clarity, but what we are really wanting is God’s constant reassurance that we are going in the right direction.  He said God will never ask you to make a decision about your vocation or what he’s calling you to based on what he hasn’t revealed to you.  God has revealed to us the way God wants us to live, the commandments, the sacraments, the beatitudes. 
In the verse above, it asks God to send out His light and His truth and to let them lead me.  Father Mike is saying, God gave us His truth.  We can let that lead us to where we are going and let that truth help us to take the next right step.  If God is not lighting up your next step for you, that doesn’t mean He has abandoned you; it means he wants you to stay where you are until He gives you the next right step.  Father Mike gives us an invitation in the video, and I want to pass that invitation on to you.  His invitation for you today is “to be content and confident to live in uncertainty.”  Or, put another way: “To live with a certainty that God has already given to you, to live with the clarity that he’s already spoken in.”  You know what He wants you to do.  Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  God has already told you what He wants you to do, and when He calls you to move forward, He will speak clearly, and that question will always be confirmed.  This doesn’t mean He is going to tell you the next five steps, just that next step. 
Father Mike talks about how when the Angel came to Mary to ask if she would be the mother of Jesus, she said, “Behold, I’m the handmaiden of the Lord.  May it be done unto me according to your word.”  The very next line says, “Then the angel departed from her.”  Mary was asked to answer this one question: Will you be the Mother of God?  Then the angel disappeared.  God’s certainty isn’t telling us all the future steps; God’s certainty is “I will be with you.”  Just stay on the path He has revealed to you until He asks you to turn.  I know waiting can be uncomfortable, and the unknown is really hard sometimes.  However, Father Mike is telling us that if you aren’t hearing anything from God on your next step, then He isn’t asking you to take one.  If God is wanting you to pivot in direction or take a different turn in your life, He will reveal that to you.  If not, keep heading in the same direction with the certainty that God is with you, and if He wanted you to do something different, He would let you know.  I will leave you with Father Mike’s call to us.  Can you be content and confident living in uncertainty?  Can you live with the certainty God has already given you, and the clarity he’s already spoken in?
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, send us your light and your truth.  Help us to follow them to wherever you want us to go.  Lord, help us to be ok with not knowing all the steps.  Help us to just take that next right step. Help us to be ok with following your light, even if it is one step at a time.  Help us to live in your truth for the times when you just want us to keep going forward.  We love you, Lord; we are so grateful for your light, especially in the dark times.  We are grateful that your light and your truth break through any darkness and any lies that we find ourselves in.  You are amazing, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I!  Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Seconds fall like pelting rain, but each drop is known to me. Remember, you are always with me.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Today is Witness Wednesday, and this week I want to share the witness of someone who shows us that you don't have to live a long life, do something spectacular, or have everything figured out in order to become a saint.

His name is St. Carlo Acutis.

His feast day was just a couple of days ago, on October 12, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to talk about his life and the incredible witness he left behind.

Carlo Acutis was born in London in 1991 to Italian parents, although his family moved back to Milan while he was still a baby. He grew up much like other children his age. He went to school. He had friends. He enjoyed sports. He loved animals. He loved computers and technology.

But there was something else about Carlo.

From a very young age, he had a profound love for Jesus—especially Jesus in the Eucharist.

He received his First Communion when he was seven years old, and from that point on, the Eucharist became the center of his life. He went to Mass every day whenever he could. He spent time in Eucharistic Adoration. He prayed the Rosary. He went to Confession frequently.

Carlo once said, “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.”

I love that.

Think about what a highway does. It gives you a direct route to where you are trying to go. Carlo knew exactly where he wanted to go. He wanted heaven. More importantly, he wanted Jesus.

His whole life was oriented toward that goal.

And yet, Carlo wasn't living in a monastery. He wasn't separated from the world. He was a regular kid growing up at the beginning of the digital age.

He loved computers, and he was very talented with them. Instead of seeing technology as something separate from his faith, Carlo asked, in a sense, “How can I use this gift for God?”

At around eleven years old, he began researching Eucharistic miracles from around the world. Eventually he used his computer skills to create an online exhibition documenting these miracles so that other people could learn about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Just think about that for a minute.

Here was a young boy using the internet not simply for entertainment, but to evangelize.

He took something he loved and something he was good at, and he gave it to God.

How often do we think serving God has to look a certain way?

Maybe we think we need to preach from a stage, become a missionary, write a book, lead a Bible study, or do something that looks obviously religious.

But what if God wants to use what you're already good at?

What if He wants to use your ability to cook, organize, write, teach, listen, fix things, make people laugh, work with technology, care for children, manage money, make music, encourage others, or whatever gifts He has placed inside of you?

Carlo didn't have to stop being Carlo in order to become holy.

He simply invited Jesus into every part of who he already was.

And I think there is such an important lesson in that for us.

First Timothy 4:12 says:

“Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.”

Carlo certainly did that.

But another thing I love about his story is that his faith wasn't only about prayer and church. His love for Jesus overflowed into the way he treated people.

Carlo noticed people others overlooked.

He helped classmates who were struggling. He befriended children who were being bullied. He cared about the poor and homeless people in his neighborhood and would give away some of his own money to help them. He didn't simply talk about loving Jesus. His relationship with Jesus changed how he saw the people around him.

Isn't that what our faith is supposed to do?

The closer we get to Jesus, the more we begin to see others through His eyes.

Maybe that is a good question for us today:

Is my relationship with Jesus changing the way I treat people?

Am I noticing the lonely person?

Am I patient with the difficult person?

Do I see the person everyone else ignores?

Do I give generously?

Do I forgive?

Do I love when loving isn't convenient?

Carlo's life reminds us that holiness isn't just what happens when we're kneeling in church. Holiness happens in the hallway at school, around the dinner table, at work, online, in the grocery store, and in all those ordinary interactions nobody else will ever see.

Carlo also understood something that many of us struggle to understand.

He knew that becoming holy meant becoming more like the person God created him to be—not becoming a copy of everyone else.

One of the sayings most associated with Carlo is that everyone is born an original, but many people die as photocopies.

That's powerful, especially today.

We live in a world that constantly invites us to compare ourselves to someone else.

Their house.

Their body.

Their marriage.

Their ministry.

Their children.

Their career.

Their social media following.

Their success.

Even their spiritual life.

But God didn't create you to become someone else.

He created you to become fully who He created YOU to be.

Carlo's life was short, but he didn't waste it trying to become somebody else.

And then, suddenly, everything changed.

In October 2006, Carlo became very sick. At first, his illness seemed like the flu. But doctors soon discovered that he had an aggressive form of leukemia.

He was only fifteen years old.

Within days, his condition deteriorated rapidly.

And yet even in his suffering, Carlo remained focused on God. He offered his suffering for the Pope and for the Church. On October 12, 2006, Carlo died.

Fifteen years old.

Think about that.

Most of us would say his life had barely begun.

But God doesn't measure a life the way we do.

We tend to measure life in years.

God looks at love.

Faithfulness.

Surrender.

Holiness.

Carlo had only fifteen years on this earth, but look at what God has done through his yes.

His Eucharistic miracle exhibition has traveled around the world. Millions of people have learned his story. Young people have discovered that holiness isn't something reserved for another generation. Adults have been challenged by his simplicity and devotion.

He was beatified in Assisi in 2020, and on September 7, 2025, Pope Leo XIV canonized Carlo Acutis as a saint of the Catholic Church.

During the canonization Mass, Pope Leo spoke about the simple practices that shaped Carlo's life: Mass, prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, and charity. Carlo integrated prayer, school, sports, study, friendship, and service into one life centered around Jesus.

And maybe that's what strikes me the most about Carlo.

His path to holiness wasn't complicated.

Stay close to Jesus.

Receive Him in the Eucharist.

Pray.

Go to Confession.

Love people.

Use your gifts for God.

Keep your eyes on heaven.

We sometimes make holiness seem almost impossible.

Maybe that's because we imagine saints as people who were completely different from us.

But Carlo wore sneakers.

He played video games.

He used computers.

He went to school.

He joked with his friends.

He lived in our modern world.

And he became a saint.

So today, I want you to ask yourself:

What would change if you truly made being close to Jesus your number-one goal?

Not becoming successful.

Not being liked.

Not accomplishing everything on your list.

Not proving yourself.

Simply staying close to Jesus.

Carlo described it as his “life plan”—to always be united to Jesus.

What if that became our life plan too?

We don't know how many years God will give us.

Hopefully many.

But the witness of St. Carlo Acutis reminds us that the goal isn't simply to live a long life.

The goal is to live the life we are given well.

To love Jesus.

To love others.

To use what God has given us for His glory.

And to remember where all of this is leading.

Heaven.

Maybe today you feel ordinary.

Maybe you don't think you're doing anything significant for God.

That's okay.

You don't have to do something extraordinary today.

Do the ordinary things with extraordinary love.

Go to Mass.

Spend a few minutes with Jesus.

Encourage someone.

Forgive someone.

Help someone.

Use one of your gifts.

Put down your phone long enough to notice the person standing in front of you.

And ask Jesus, “How can I love You today?”

St. Carlo Acutis shows us what can happen when an ordinary person makes Jesus the center of an ordinary life.

And perhaps that is Carlo's greatest witness:

You don't have to wait until you're older.

You don't have to wait until life gets easier.

You don't have to wait until you're more holy.

You can choose Jesus today.

St. Carlo Acutis, pray for us.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to Walk Boldly With Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

When You Don't Understand What God Is Doing
Isaiah 40:31 “They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.”
This is a message that I have been receiving a lot lately.  The part where it says they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.  I feel that God wants us to know that he is here for us.  He knows what we are going through, and if we hope in Him, He will renew our strength.  It seems like a lot of people that I know are going through some really difficult things right now, and they are definitely feeling weary.  God wants us to know that he is with us in our struggle.  When we feel weary, we can renew our strength by leaning into Him rather than pulling away.  
What do I mean by pulling away?  When we are going through a hard time, sometimes we get mad at God.  We don’t understand what is going on.  We know He could fix the situation, and we don’t understand why He is not doing anything.  There is never a time when God is “not doing anything.”  However, if we can’t see or understand what he is doing, it may seem like he is doing nothing.  This can cause us to pull away.  This can make it hard for us to pray.  Our hope can sometimes diminish because we can’t see a way out of the situation.  We can’t see a way for God to use the situation for our good.
This is normal.  If you are in this situation right now, please know you are not alone.  You are in good company.  There were even some Saints who found that they could not find the words to pray sometimes.  God understands this.  God is not looking for us to have all the answers.  He is not looking for us to know exactly what to say to Him, or what to do in each circumstance.  He is just looking for us.  Yes, that means you, too.  He just wants you to be with Him in whatever way you can.  
He wants you to hope in him even if you don’t know what to hope for.  I know that may not make sense. How can you hope if you don’t know what to hope for?  I think that just means that you hope in the fact that God has a plan.  That even though you have no idea what the plan is, you know He has one.  You hope in the promise that God uses all things for your good.  That even though you don’t know how it will turn out, it will ultimately be good for you.  I know this is not easy, but it is possible.
I was in a situation that I didn’t really understand.  A very good friend of mine was in a lot of pain in the hospital.  She had cancer.  I know she was close to the Lord, and if it was her time to go, she would go to Heaven.  I also knew that she wanted to get better.  I knew God could heal her.  It seems to me that if I ask God to heal her and trust that He will, then He will, in fact, heal her.   I have read many Bible passages, and they all seem to support this theory.  Ask, and you will receive.  Have faith and trust with all your heart, and it will be granted.  (ok, that last one was a paraphrase)  You get what I mean, though, right?  However, I think this is a trap that the enemy has set up for us to fall into.
This is something I struggle with, so I am letting the Holy Spirit lead my fingers as I type this, and I want to acknowledge that I have not figured this out yet.  I am not an expert on this; I am on a journey of discovery and understanding, just like you.  I have prayed for understanding on this a lot.  I know I have talked about this before when discussing losing a close friend and my dog.  What I am talking about now is my understanding from my time of prayer. 
The reason I say this is that the trap the enemy sets up for us to fall into is that there is so much potential for anger and doubt.  If we ask God to heal her, and she dies, we will most likely get angry with God and not understand what is going on.  We may stay angry for a long time.   We may also start to doubt that there is a God, or that He actually hears our prayers.  We may start to doubt ourselves if we read verses like Mark 11:22-23: “Jesus said to them in reply, ‘Have faith in God.'Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.”  It says, “does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.”  So if it was not done for you, then you may start to question if you could have done something differently.  Would things have turned out differently if you had just believed more?  
Do you see how all of those things are things that the enemy wants us to feel?  He would do anything to try to destroy our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  The enemy is the father of lies.  I talked about him before and how he sometimes uses scripture against us.  It is usually not a blatant lie. Do you see how he is not even changing anything about the scripture?  He is just using it to try to show you that God doesn’t keep his promises and can’t be trusted.  This is anything but true, and yet the enemy takes advantage of our weakened, vulnerable states and plays with our emotions.  
So, if it’s not true that God let us down, what is the truth?  This is what I was asking God this morning.  What came to my mind was that we don’t know the whole story.  Only God does.  First, if we ask Him to cure or heal someone, and they end up dying, He still cured them, as there is no sickness in Heaven.  They are no longer in pain and are restored to perfect health.  He did still answer our prayer, just not the way we wanted Him to.  Second, we don’t know what is really in a person's heart.  Only God does.  For instance, my friend stated that she wanted to go to rehab.  This implies that she wanted to get better and go home, which is the purpose of rehab.  She did not just want to go to hospice and just be comfortable.  To you and me, this would seem like she was not ready to die or that she felt like she wanted more time here.  Therefore, when I pray, I pray that she is healed here on earth and that she gets to keep on living. 
However, only God knows what is truly in her heart.  Only He knows why she wanted to go to rehab.  Did she choose that because she is scared to die? Did she choose that because she is afraid her children aren’t ready for her to go?  Did she choose that because she wanted more time with them?  We don’t know what is in her heart, but God knows.  We don’t know what His plan is and how He is going to use the outcome of this for everyone’s good.  All we know is that right now she is in pain.  We know what we want.  We know what we think is best.  He knows what is really best.  He has seen the ending of her story.  He wrote the ending of her story.  If God chooses this to be the ending of my friend’s story, it will not be because I did not believe or trust enough. That is a lie the enemy is telling me.  If she dies, it is because God has decided it was for her good.  
If you are struggling and find yourself in a difficult situation right now, know that God is answering your prayers.  The answers may not be what you thought they would be, but they are the best answers.  God is not just trying to make you feel better in the moment.  He knows the ending of your story, and he is working all things for your good.  You may not understand what He is doing, but if you can hope in the Lord anyway, he will renew your strength, and you will “soar on eagle’s wings.”
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today.  We ask that you help us to lean into you when times are tough.  We ask that you help us to see all you are doing in our situation. We ask that you strengthen us and help us to fly on eagle’s wings, especially when we feel we can’t go on any longer.  Lord, help us not to grow weary.  We ask that you help us to understand when we feel like we don’t have any understanding.  Lord, we ask that you comfort us and help remind us that you will use all things for our good.  We love you, Lord, and we know that you do so much for us. We are so grateful that you always keep your promises. You are so amazing!  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Rejoice in our love and our relationship. I am the rock upon which you lean.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

What If The Answer Is No?
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.   “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
This is a verse that can bring us comfort in difficult times.  It is also one that can be frustrating at times.  It can be frustrating when our thoughts don’t match up with God’s thoughts.  Sometimes we have no idea what God is thinking.  His ways don’t make sense to us.  We pray for our loved one to be cured, and then they pass away.  How does that make sense?  I thought if I asked God, he would answer.  I thought according to John 14:13, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” If Jesus said He will do whatever we ask in His name, why did my loved one die?  These are questions that many of us find ourselves asking in a difficult time.  When I have asked them, the answer I have received has been that God did cure my loved one because there is no sickness in heaven.  Also, the Lord always points me back to this verse.  
His ways are higher than our ways.  That may be frustrating at times, but most of the time I find it very comforting.  I don’t have to worry that my future is in the hands of someone who thinks as we do.  Not that our thinking it bad, but it is limited.  God’s scope is limitless.  He can see around every bend, twist, and turn in your life.  He can anticipate every move you are going to make.  This can be frustrating too because you don’t know all those twists and turns.  He may be working on one thing in your life, and it makes no sense to you at all.  Yet, in five years, when you need to cross a bridge, and you only have the strength to do it because of that thing that you did 5 years ago, it all makes sense.  Well, actually, it only makes sense if you are looking for ways that it makes sense.  If you are able to take the time to self-reflect, then it will all make sense one day.
The thing that got me thinking of God’s ways not always making sense was the first reading at the daily Mass. It was from 2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-32, which I know will not be in everyone’s bible.  If it is not in your Bible, do a quick Google search, and you will be able to read the whole story.  I won’t read the whole thing to you here, but I do suggest you read it.  Actually, the whole Maccabees book is a good one to read.  In these verses, it talks about a mother who had 7 sons.  They were Jewish, and the invading army was forcing the Jewish people to eat pork.  She and her sons refused, and she had to watch all her sons be tortured and killed rather than go against the laws given to them by Moses.  They were being faithful to God.  They were refusing to compromise their beliefs; they were giving up their lives for God, and yet, they still died.  In our eyes, they were not saved.  
However, God’s ways are higher than our ways, and He is not going to abandon His children.  We don’t know what these men were saved from.  Maybe they were saved from the fires of hell because if they compromised on this one thing, maybe they would have gotten so caught up in the new culture that they would have fallen away from the ways of the Lord.  We don’t know.  Maybe they were saved from having to live under the rule of this new authority?  Maybe God was rewarding them for their faithfulness by taking them out of this broken world.  We don’t know.  We don’t know what God was thinking, but we do know that he knows more than we do, and if He did, it was for a reason.  
Do you remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego?  If you want to revisit this story, it is in the Book of Daniel chapter 3.  These 3 were Jewish, and they were set over the affairs in the province of Babylon.  King Nebuchadnezzar built a giant statue out of gold and put out a mandate that everyone must bow to it.  They refused and said they would only bow to the Lord our God.  When they were confronted by Nebuchadnezzar and asked why they wouldn’t bow, and told that if they didn’t bow they would be put in the fiery furnace, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Can you imagine the bravery of these three men?  Can you imagine their faith?  They knew that the Lord our God could save them, and they believed he would save them, and yet they were prepared to die if He did not save them.  They were definitely gifted with some holy boldness in order to be able to stand up to the king like that, and also to be willing to die instead of betraying their Lord, our Lord.  I wonder if I would have the courage?  I wonder how I would react?  I remember having a discussion about Martyrs once with a friend.  She was saying that it was crazy to give up your life if someone is threatening to kill you instead of just doing that one thing.  
For instance, Saint Maria Goretti was stabbed to death because she refused to let a childhood friend force himself on her.  My friend was saying that Maria didn't have to die.  God would have forgiven her.  He knew she didn’t want to do it.    My friend said she couldn’t imagine that God would have wanted Maria to die.  I understand what she is saying.  God is always willing to forgive as long as we ask for it.  The thing about Martyrs is, they don’t see a choice in this type of circumstance.  They love the Lord so much and have devoted their life to Him, and living with the thought that they betrayed Him is not an option.  Also, Saint Maria was not just thinking about herself in this instance.  I don’t know if she was thinking about herself at all.  What she kept saying in the movie was, “God doesn’t want you to do this.”  She was concerned for her friend’s soul as well.  She didn’t want him to cross that line and end up suffering in eternity for it.
Yes, I believe that God would have forgiven these men for eating pork instead of sacrificing their lives for it.  However, I also believe that their reward in heaven because of their sacrifice was so much greater than their suffering in the moment.  I believe if Saint Maria Goretti had not been able to resist, God would have continued to love her and favor her.  However, because she was able to resist, God was able to use her sacrifice to save so many others that would not have been saved.  Maria was rushed to the hospital, and before she died, she forgave the kid that assaulted her.  That kid went to jail and served his time.  The whole time, all he could think about was how she forgave him.  He went on to become a priest.  Saint Maria Goretti is a great example of forgiveness, and because of her sacrifice, so many people have been able to forgive and have been able to know the love of God.  
Do you see how God’s ways are higher than our ways?  We don’t always understand His plan.  Why did the mother have to watch her 7 sons die?  Why didn’t God save them?  Why didn’t He at least leave her one of them?  Why didn’t he deliver them in a way that we think He should have?  Why did he let Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego live?  I guess I didn’t mention that earlier.  In case you are not familiar with that story.  King Nebuchadnezzar was so angry at their reply that he threw them into the fiery furnace, which he had ordered to be made extra hot.  After they were thrown into the furnace, the king looked in, and he saw four people in the furnace, not three, and they were completely untouched by the fire.  The Lord had sent his angel in there to protect them.  When the king saw that they were untouched by the fire, he called for them to come out of the fire, and they walked right out.  Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.  Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces, and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
God sent an angel down to save these three, but he allowed the 7 sons to be tortured and killed.  This can be hard to reconcile with because we don’t think as God thinks.  I run into this thinking frequently, especially when it comes to people who are sick.  I believe with all my being that God can cure any illness, even mental illness.  I know he can. There isn’t a doubt in my mind.  This means that I struggle when He doesn’t.  We have a lot of conversations about it.  I question Him a lot about it.  I wonder if I am doing something wrong with my prayers.  I wonder if I should be doing more.  I wonder why I can’t heal this person.  And there it is.  I can’t heal anyone; only God can.  Every time I have these discussions with the Lord, He always says the same thing.  “My thoughts are greater than your thoughts, and my ways are better than your ways.  Why are you doubting me?  Why do you keep questioning me?  I know what I am doing, and I am doing what is best for everyone.  Yes, it hurts sometimes, but there is always a reason.  I am your Father; you will not always like what I do, you won’t always agree with it, but it is what is best.  Trust me.”
Wow, how can I argue with that?  When you find yourself wondering what the heck God is thinking, remember these words that he told me.  Remember this verse; maybe write it down and remind yourself of it often if you are in a difficult place right now.  God knows what He is doing.  I know it is hard for us to see it and hard for us to even believe it sometimes.  Trust Him.  He has got you in the palm of His hands; just relax and let Him take care of you.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, help us to understand that your ways are higher than our ways.  Help us to trust that you know what you are doing and that you have a reason.  Help us believe with our whole being that you have our best interests at heart, and if you are doing something, then there will be something good that comes out of it.  Help us to be ok with not knowing.  Help us to not get lost in the questioning and the needing to know why.  Give us reassurance that everything will all make sense one day, even if it is not until we join you in heaven.  We love you so much, and we thank you for all you do for us.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.  
Thank you all for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day.
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I am the creator of the world. I knew you before there was the concept of time. You have always been a part of me. I have sealed you in my Spirit, and no one can break my seal.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching