Write from the Deep

46 – Be a Warrior in the Deep

Author Mark Mynheir is a Marine. He’s been on a S.W.A.T. team. Done undercover narcotics work. And he’s been a law enforcement officer for almost 30 years. He’s a modern-day warrior—and he’s here to help you on your journey in the deep. Let his experiences and wisdom help prepare you for battles in the deep!

Show Notes

Mark Mynheir is a former Marine who’s worked in law enforcement nearly three decades. In his career, Mark has served as a patrol officer, an undercover narcotics agent, a S.W.A.T. team member, and a homicide detective. Mark has parlayed his police experiences into a successful speaking and writing career. He has written articles for Focus on the Family’s Breakaway magazine, Lookout magazine, and Christian Fiction Online and is also the author of five novels: Rolling Thunder, From the Belly of the Dragon, The Void, The Corruptible, and the Christy nominated The Night Watchman. Mark has also co-written two books with Max Lucado—Pocket Prayers for Dads and Pocket Prayers for Military Life.

You can visit Mark’s website at copwriter.com

 

Key Quotes

What the deep means to Mark…

I was thinking about that, and it has so many meanings. Whenever I hear the deep, it’s the deep in my faith; where am I at with my faith. That’s what it really means when I hear the deep. I’m thinking “Where I am with Jesus?” Am I going deep, am I digging deep, or am I just skipping across the surface?

When I’m writing, when I hear the deep, am I getting deep with my characters? And it’s very similar to my faith; am I skipping across the surface, or am I getting down to the meat and bones, down into the soul. Like I said, the deep has a couple meanings, but as a writer, it’s really am I getting to the soul of whatever I’m looking at.

 

Writing for impact…

When I wrote my first book, a lot of it had to do with forgiveness. So, I’m writing this book and I have this little agenda in my head and I’m going along, but I didn’t realize until I was done, you have to dig deep in yourself… putting pieces of yourself in your writing. And I found after I finished my first book, there was a lot of myself in it and it was a lot of healing and cleansing that God was working in me. And I had this grand vision of who I was gonna help! If nobody else got anything from it, I did. God was able to work through some things in my life and my attitude. By the time I was done and really had reflected on it, I was really thankful.

 

How Mark started writing…

Many folks know from an early age they want to write; they keep journals… That was not me. From a very early age, I struggled with written word. It was my enemy… I had learning disabilities… I hated writing.

I knew I could barely read and write, so I quit school at 17 and joined the Marines. I had a good service career… but in there I met a guy… he started explaining his learning disability and he said, “Mark, you have no idea what it’s like not being able to do what everyone else can do.” I was not a Christian at the time, but I knew God was speaking to my heart. And I looked at him and I said, “Yeah, I kinda do.”

So I get out of the service, I meet my wife… She encouraged me to go back to school. I went and I got tested and I found out I had dyslexia and dysgraphia. When they tested me, I tested grammar at about a second-grade level. Everything else was at a post-graduate level. It wasn’t that I was stupid, it was just there was a glitch somewhere in my head that really impacted me on reading and writing. Suddenly, it all made sense and my pain had a name… I had to take a year and a half of prep classes a...

45 – Hopelessness – snares in the deep, part 2

There are dangers in the deep, snares planted by the enemy of our souls to entangle us and keep us trapped in darkness and doubt. Today we’re exploring the most dangerous snare of all: hopelessness. But here’s the good news: There is ALWAYS hope when God is on our side. So come join the discussion on how to avoid—or escape—the snare of hopelessness.

Show notes

In part one of our series on snares in the deep (episode 44, and I encourage you to go back and listen to that if you haven’t) we talked about the snare of resentment. While resentment can build feelings of anger and frustration, this week’s snare can suck all your feelings away and leave you in a wasteland. Empty. Starving. Hopeless.

And that, my friends, is the snare we’re focusing on today. Hopelessness.

Hopelessness can lead to:

* Giving up

* Being isolated

* Being more vulnerable to attacks from the enemy of our soul

* Depression

* Despair

 

How to avoid the snare of hopelessness:

Keep your hope centered in the right place—on God

* Psalm 25:4-5 says, “Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” We’re not to hope in things or people or circumstances.

* Psalm 130:7 says, “O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows.” We can hope in Him because He loves us.

 

Ground yourself in the reality of God’s goodness

* Psalm 145:5-10 says, “I will meditate on Your majestic, glorious splendor and Your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim Your greatness. Everyone will share the story of Your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about Your righteousness. The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all His creation. All of Your works will thank You, Lord, and Your faithful followers will praise You.”

 

Understand that the deep is just life

* It’s not necessarily a punishment. Jesus experienced the deep to the point of sweating blood. It’s not a declaration of your value, or lack thereof. It just is. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

* You’re not alone. We all go through challenges and slide toward hopelessness.

 

Focus on things that you have, rather than what you’ve lost

* Be looking for things that give you hope. Purpose to spend time every day doing this, even if only for a moment. Of course, look in Scripture, but look for hope in the immediate, too. In the physical world around you. In things like a child’s joy in the moment, or music, or nature.

 

Live with your focus on the possibility of the unseen too

* One of my personal definitions of  hope is unswerving belief in future possibilities. God is an infinite, boundless God. Infinite hope, infinite possibility. He can do things we can’t see coming. Yes, we should focus on the good things we see, but we should also be asking God daily to help us focus on the things unseen, the eternal things He has for us.

 

Use Scripture with a truth phrase to create “Affirmations of Hope”

* With God, all things are possible. My feelings don’t change that truth.

* The enemy is a roaring lion, seeking those he may devour. I will NOT be devoured.

* God cares. He loves me for me!

* Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened,

44 – Resentment – Snares in the Deep, part 1

Being in the deep is bad enough, but what can you do when you find you’re trapped there? Caught by one of the strategic snares the enemy has planted? That’s exactly what we’re here to talk about. Join us as we discuss ways to avoid the snare of resentment. Or, if you’ve been caught in it, ways to escape. You’re not alone!

 

Show notes

In our last episode, we talked with award-winning author Alton Gansky about traveling in the deep. He had some wonderful insights for us, but it also made us think. Because we walk this fine line where we don’t want to strive to get out of the deep, we need patient endurance, but there should ultimately be a sense of movement in God’s time. Of progression, learning, and growing. It’s a journey. The trouble is, when we’re journeying in the deep, there are snares. And one of the most dangerous snares is resentment.

 

The Fruit of Resentment

Rebellion, willful disobedience, arrogance: These all lead to separation from God.

Which leads to: Physical consequences, broken relationships, loss of perspective.

And all that provides: A foothold for the enemy’s lies.

 

What Do We Resent?

That we’re in this deep place at all. We don’t deserve it.

But what does Scripture say we deserve?

* “The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Psalm 14:2-3

* “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5

* “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’” Romans 2:5-6

* “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

* It’s only by the GIFT of God that we can have forgiveness. We don’t—we can’t—earn it, and we don’t deserve it.

 

We Resent Being Punished

But Scripture tells us refinement isn’t punishment. It comes out of God’s love for us.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

* “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

* “My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.” Proverbs 3:11-14

* There is gain in correction. Whatever the reason we’re in this deep place, it will be ultimately used for our good and God’s glory. Even Jesus suffered.

* “God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that He should make Jesus, through His suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.” Hebrews 2:10

 

We Resent Those Who Don’t Appear to Suffer Like We Do.

I’m way better than ______, and I don’t see him/her suffering like this.

43 – Traveling in the Deep with Alton Gansky

Too often we look at the deep as a bottomless hole that traps and immobilizes us. But, as Alton Gansky shares, we can learn to travel in the deep. To look on the deep places as part of this journey God has each of us on as writers and as individuals. And we can learn to travel the deep parts of the journey with wisdom and grace.

Show Notes

About Al…

Alton L. Gansky is the author of 24 novels, 5 novellas, 1 screenplay, and 11 nonfiction works, as well as principal writer of 9 novels and 2 nonfiction books. He has been a Christy Award finalist (A Ship Possessed) and an Angel Award winner (Terminal Justice) and recently received the ACFW award for best suspense/thriller for his work on Fallen Angel. He holds a BA and MA in biblical studies and was granted a Litt.D. He lives in central California with his wife.

He has hosted Writer’s Talk video podcast and is now cohost of Firsts in Fiction, a video podcast for up and coming writers—about the craft of fiction.

In addition to his own writing, Alton Gansky has consulted and provided editing/ writing services to several CBA publishers and written copy, video scripts, and other works for the general business market. Through Gansky Communications he has consulted with publishers and agents, as well as provided editing services. He is “the go to guy” for co-writing having been selected by Penguin, Waterbrook, Broadman Holman, and other publishers to work with their top tier authors.

Find out more about Alton at AltonGansky.com.

 

Key quotes

What the deep means to Al…

Well, I imagine it has many different meanings for many different people based on their travels through life. For me, the deep has been very positive, and at times been very negative. It’s been something endured rather than embraced. And other times you’re forced to embrace it, and you see at the end why. I’m getting old now so I’ve lived long enough to have many scars and to learn from them, and to pass them on to anyone who will listen. Not the scars, but what I’ve learned about the scars.

I think the deep is part of the travel. We walk through darkness at times. A lot of people don’t realize there’s places in Scripture where God is described as light, but there are places where it says God moves in the darkness. And that’s sometimes where you find Him doing His best work.

 

On learning from difficult places…

What I’ve learned over the years of my life and in my years in ministry is that we are not promised that rose garden. If we do get the rose garden we get the thorns also. Many Christians think erroneously that if they become a Christian everything is going to be fine and there’s never going to be any challenges. I used to teach my people, well, they crucified Jesus and He lived a perfect life, so there’s a good chance you’re probably going to face some problems of your own.

Difficulty is the course of life…What you have to do is accept it and lean into it. The other option is to just stop moving forward or, well, you can’t even back out of the problem. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do to get away from it. Your only positive choice is to accept that place and lean into the problem. Move on, keep going, and do whatever it is you can do.

 

The deepest deep…

Some of the most remarkable things we will ever see are found in the deepest caves…The Lord doesn’t necessarily provide us with all the light we want. I always want more light. But I’m not sure I could handle more light,

42 – The Danger of Striving in the Deep

Do you find yourself doing everything you can think of to “learn what I need to” and “get out!” of the deep? Then the odds are good that you’ve blown right by trust and dwelling with God and landed smack-dab in the middle of striving. But striving doesn’t help you when you’re in the deep. In fact, it works against you. Don’t believe us? Well, come join the discussion and find out why it’s dangerous to strive when you’re in the deep.

Show Notes

We’ve talked before about the most common reaction when we find ourselves in deep places, and that’s the drive to GET OUT! To escape the deep, to get back to where we’re doing well and feeling happy. But there’s another reaction that can be as counterproductive—and even dangerous—and that’s to strive while you’re in the deep.

What do we mean by that?

Webster’s defines striving as:

Making great efforts to achieve or obtain something

Or

To struggle or fight vigorously

When you strive for something, it’s goes beyond just working hard or being determined to achieve it. It’s being focused, sometimes obsessively so on DOING. It’s trying so hard to do what’s right and best and most productive, to learn your lesson and get past whatever the struggle is, that you completely miss what this whole thing is about.

 

The Difference Between Striving and Enduring

Striving is about doing, about you figuring out what you need to do and jumping on it.

Enduring is about patience, dwelling with Christ, and trusting Him.

Following Christ, especially when you’re in the deep, is like being a foot soldier in the military. Wait to receive orders. Act only when the Commander says to act. Until then, rest. Train. Study. Focus on Him.

Rest in God

“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:9-11

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

 

Study – Put our focus on God

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”

Joshua 1:8 “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

* Consider how many books, blogs, etc., you read on craft or on the business of writing. How many hours do you spend researching for your books? Do you spend an equal amount of time in God’s Word? If not, things are off-balance.

Psalm 119:15 “I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.”

* This goes beyond just reading the Word. We each need to dig deep, to study what God’s word is saying to us.

2 Timothy 2:7 Paul tells Timothy “Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.”

* How often do we reflect? I mean literally just sit around and think about something we’ve just read?

 

Train Ourselves to Walk with God

“Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.” Psalm 144:1

* God is doing the work, the subduing, and yet David still needs training. He has a part to play.

1 Timothy 4:7b “…train yourself to be godly.”

41 – How To Handle Critique

Few careers open you up to criticism and critique as being a writer. Everyone seems to have an opinion on how you could have written your book better. But the hard truth is that if you’re a writer, you can’t escape critiques and edits. Nor should you! Quality critiques and edits are your friends, helping you to strengthen your craft and share your message with excellence. So how do we learn to love critiques? Well, join us to learn exactly that!

Show Notes

Critique is an unavoidable occurrence in the publishing industry. Maybe you’re at a conference and you have an appointment with an editor, an agent, or a mentor, or maybe you’re just meeting with your critique group. Or for those of you who are published, you know those edits are coming!

While we’d all love to respond prayerfully, thoughtfully, and with a teachable heart and a willingness to work, we often…don’t. Instead, we can feel:

* Discouraged

* Resentful

* Frustrated

* Angry

* Or we get caught up in feeding on affirmation

What hinders us from the positive, healthy attitude we want?

* Fear – We don’t think we can do it. We worry that we don’t have the skills, etc.

* Arrogance – We think we can do it without studying and learning the craft

What we need instead is a realignment of our understanding.

Writing is hard! Rewriting is hard! Give yourself a limited amount of time to be frustrated. Then take a hard look at the suggestions. Take the time to think, to pray, to get counsel. Read craft books. Visit reputable writing websites. Allow yourself the time you need to come to the solutions that can make your work better. It’s okay to not know how to fix something right away. What can unfortunately happen is that we panic because we don’t have the answers right now. But instead, we can learn to trust the process and trust that God is intimately involved and will give us the skills we need when we need them.

Make sure that you’re getting critique from people who know what they’re talking about, and think in terms of correction and redirection.

Three steps you can take to help you today

Remember this isn’t about you!

This is about the message God has given you, and the responsibility you have to share that with excellence.  2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive His approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.”

Recognize that critiques and editing are “iron sharpening iron.”

It’s as much about refining you as refining your craft, about teaching you to keep your focus on God and the task He’s given you, not about being right. “Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27:4-5

Remember that this is your story.

Critiques and editing are helpful, and can strengthen your craft. But if you have a sense, deep within, that what you’re being told isn’t how God wants you to share the story, hold to what God says. I’m not talking about craft so much but about the core of the message and story. Ask God to give you wisdom and discernment. “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God.” 1 John 4:1

Final Thoughts

Critiques, editing, those are simply a part of the journey when God gives you the task to be a writer. They’re not meant to discourage, but to help and strengthen you. Ready yourself to receive them with the right heart and mindset. Listen, evaluate, and then work hard to refine and improve.

40 – Spiritual Fuel to Build Strength and Endurance

Are you using the right kinds of “spiritual fuel” to energize and strengthen your faith? Or are you consuming what seems like fuel, but is actually a corrosive that eats away at your spirit and endurance? Come join us as we discuss how to identify false spiritual fuel from the real deal—and where you can find true satisfaction for your soul.

SHOW NOTES

We often talk about writing as a journey, but we don’t spend enough time focusing on the proper type of fuel we need for that journey. Everything we do in life requires energy, so we’re in a constant need for fuel. It’s never ending, until we die. But it’s not just physical fuel. We need the right kind if spiritual fuel to endure the things we encounter on a spiritual front. The problem is, there are good fuels out there, and harmful fuels. And we’re not always as discriminating as we need to be.

You can’t put regular gas into a diesel vehicle—it kills the engine. If you put diesel into a vehicle that runs on gas, same thing. Physically speaking, we have to feed our bodies the right kind of fuel for it to work as it was designed.

This applies to spiritual fuel as well. We have to use the right kind of spiritual fuel so that our hearts and spirits will “operate” as God intended, as He created them to operate, in faith and peace.

Problem is, too often we THINK we’re feeding on fuel, when in reality we’re feeding on things that corrode and destroy. Just as diesel will kill a gas-powered engine, putting gas in a diesel engine could actually cause it to explode, so feeding on false fuels—things that we think energize us spiritually, but in reality are corroding and destroying—can undermine our spiritual strength and endurance.

 

False fuels

* Fear

* Anger

* Bitterness

* Discouragement

* Worry

* Negativity

Whether we realize it or not, it’s easy to get caught up in these things. To feed on them. But it’s so hard to know when we’re doing this!

 

How can we recognize when we’re using the wrong fuel?

Ask ourselves:

* What kinds of things are we saying? Is our talk centered on concerns? On wrongs done to us?

* What do we feel? Angry, discouraged, frustrated?

* What do we often hear? Sometimes we’re like a person at a buffet who only takes one food out of dozens, we may only hear the one negative comment out of ten positive things.

* Where are our thoughts focused? What do we find ourselves thinking about? We can get deep grooves or patterns in our brains, and no matter what we start thinking about, we end up on the same thing.

* What do those we trust say about us?

 

False Fuels have these things in common

* They’re useless; they won’t create spark.

* Or, more dangerous, they make us feel energized. But it’s the wrong kind of energy. It’s an energy that destroys and consumes us.

* They suck us in like a vortex we can’t escape from. We cycle around and around.

* They burden us rather than uplift us.

* They turn our focus inward rather than toward God and others. Whenever we turn our focus inward, we’re focusing on the flesh, not on the spirit, therefore we don’t nurture or produce the fruit of the spirit.

 

What Spiritual Fuel Should We Feed On?

Jesus tells us what His food is in John 4:34.  “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work…”

* This is about focus. About doing whatever it is that God has given us to do. This is where we get our energy from.

39 – Why Does It Matter That God Doesn’t Change?

Change. For many that’s a four-letter word, especially when they’re in deep places and struggling to cope. But here’s the good news: there’s an anchor you can hold onto, an anchor that is grounded and firm and never changes.

Show Notes

We want to talk about change. Yes, the world changes around us every minute. Just look at technology these days. But people aren’t very consistent either. We feel great one day, fall back the next. Strong one day, then weak the next. Hot then cold. We are subject to emotions which are fickle, and frailty of our body and mind, which are decaying.

The danger is, do we sometimes see God that way? Do we think He might love us less on any given day? Give us less attention? Forget about us? Be angry? Does He get distracted and forget about us, even for a moment? Is He more attentive to those who are more important than we are—which, in our minds far too often, is everyone.

Do we truly value the unchangeable nature of God? Today we’ll focus on just how wonderful it is to serve a God who never changes.

 

What does it mean to be unchanging?

Steadfast. Firmly fixed in place.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

“For I the Lord do not change…” Malachi 3:6

 

God will always exist.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8

“From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.'” Revelation 4:5-8

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Psalm 90:2

 

Because God will always exist, so will His word.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8

“Forever, O Lord, Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.” Psalm 119:89

 

Because He doesn’t change, His promises will never fail.

“God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” Numbers 23:19

 

God is perfect the way He is. He doesn’t need to grow or improve.

“As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.” Psalm 18:30

“He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.” Deuteronomy 32:4

 

He doesn’t get tired.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah 40:28

 

God’s love is perfect and it won’t fade or end. He doesn’t love us less on any given day.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end…” Lamentations 3:22

38 – How Do You Overcome Defeat?

Defeat is never fun. It can bring a host of emotional baggage with it, weighing us down, demoralizing us so much that we doubt our ability to do anything. So how do we keep defeat from undermining us? By seeing it through the eyes of faith. And how do we do that? Get ready to find out!

Show Notes

We need defeat, apparent or real, for God to bring about victory.

Apparent defeats in the Bible:

Exodus, chapter 5

Moses’s first conversation with Pharaoh leads to Pharaoh’s angry order that the Israelites must now produce bricks without being given straw. They’ll have to work far harder and find straw themselves. But ultimately God wanted to lead them out of slavery through a larger, more glorious victory.

Daniel, chapter 3

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown into a blazing furnace when they refuse to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. Yet in this apparent defeat, the men are rescued. God’s victory is so complete that there isn’t even a sign of scorching on their clothes or the smell of fire on them.

 

What does this say to us about how to react in the face of seeming defeat?

* We want to be different from the world around us.

 

What is the reaction of the world?

* To exercise doubt, despair, and frustration

* To build the anger and “victim” muscles

* To let trust grow flabby and weak

 

What is the reaction of faith?

* Exercise trust and patience

* Build the suffering servant muscles

* Build the endurance and perseverance muscles

* Let words of truth grow strong and powerful.

 

What if we start to react in the world’s way?

STOP. The second you realize it, stop. Turn around. Focus on God.

The more you do this, the more you train yourself—and your faith—to respond in faith. To lean into God and trust Him with the outcome.

Reacting is an instinct. Responding is a choice. A deliberate action. We want to train ourselves to respond.

Does this mean every defeat you face in the world will be turned to victory? Yes, but the timing is in God’s hands. The question isn’t if you’ll see the victory pulled from defeat, but if you will let God use these opportunities to strengthen you and your faith.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

 

We want to hear from you!

What are some ways God has brought you victory through apparent defeat?

 

Tweetable:

Defeat doesn’t have to defeat you!

 

37 – Knowing God’s Heart

So often, we get it into our heads that when we accept Christ and set about following God, life will be not just better—which it is—but easier—which it often is not. In fact, when we seek God’s heart and determine to embrace it in our thoughts, actions, and writing, we may end up in the deepest places we’ve ever known. But don’t be afraid! Our wonderful guest, best-selling author and mother of TEN, Tricia Goyer, will help you see how it’s in those places that we find God’s true power and the message He has for us to share with a broken and weary world.

Show Notes

About Tricia Goyer:

Tricia Goyer is a busy mom of ten—eight living at home—grandmother of three, and wife to John. Somewhere around the hustle and bustle of family life, she manages to find the time to write fictional tales delighting and entertaining readers and non-fiction titles offering encouragement and hope. A bestselling author, Tricia has published more than fifty books to date and has written more than 500 articles. She is a two-time Carol Award winner, as well as a Christy and ECPA Award nominee. In 2010, she was selected as one of the Top 20 Moms to Follow on Twitter by SheKnows.com. Tricia is also on the blogging team at TheBetterMom.com and other homeschooling and Christian sites. In addition to her roles as mom, wife, and author, Tricia volunteers around her community and mentors teen moms. She is the founder of Hope Pregnancy Ministries in Northwestern Montana, and she currently leads a Teen MOPS Group in Little Rock, AR. Learn more about Tricia at www.triciagoyer.com.

Tricia Goyer is a busy mom and writer in the trenches. Today she talks with us about knowing God’s heart…

Key Quotes:

Tricia’s thoughts of the deep…

“I love that you brought God’s word into it. I think in my story it has been getting to know God’s word, really spending time with Him, but then actually doing what it says. So when God says care for the widows, care for the orphans, tell the gospel to those in need, it’s actually doing what He says. When I do that, that’s where the deep trouble comes… but then having Him show up again and again and again.”

 

Deep struggles in our lives…

“The deep for me was all those places I tried to hide, all the pain that had been there. God not only wanted to heal those places but He wanted to use me to reach other people. Somehow all the pain that I went through…it even comes out in my writing…in a lot of the issues my characters have. So not only face-to-face, but even in my writing God has wanted to use those things that I wanted to hide to help other people.”

 

Struggles while we’re being obedient…

“The most recent struggle has been adopting our kids. John and I have three biological kids and then we’ve adopted seven more kids in the last five years…and my 87-year-old grandma also lives with us, so add that to the mix…We started with adopting one because we felt we’ve got to care for these orphans… and we got a newborn baby and we thought, okay we’ve done what God’s word says… But then John and I were confronted with the thought that there are a lot more kids that need homes, that are in foster care, that are aging out of foster care… Most teenagers that age out of foster care, the girls are pregnant within six months…Statistics are that 90% of the boys are incarcerated after they age out of foster care because they have no family. They have nowhere to turn. They end up going to the streets… We were just confronted…so then we got these kids that were so broken…that had emotional issues. They’ve been abused, they’ve been sexually assaulted,