Known by Heart
Last week, a friend from our home church in South Carolina sent me a message. Her text spoke of a show about a couple renovating a French chateau, uncovering secret passages, and searching for hidden treasure. Then she told me how she thought of me every time she watched a new episode.
From the moment I sat down to watch the first episode of the show, I understood why it would cause her to think of me. The dusty corridors of the ancient chateau. The excitement of discovering forgotten rooms behind paneled walls. The historical research to track down clues about potential treasures. It was exactly the sort of thing that makes my heart race with delight.
As I watched the couple navigate their renovation adventure, something unexpected settled over me like a Welsh mist.
Beyond Lip Service
Sometimes the most powerful messages come from the simplest places, like the children's song we chose for our Holiday Bible Club: "Our God is so big, so strong, and so mighty, there's nothing that He cannot do!"
I believe those words with my whole heart. I truly do! I can recite countless Bible verses about God's unlimited power. I've taught lessons about His omnipotence. I've written devotions about it. But then our three-day Holiday Bible Club happened.
After weeks of glorious Welsh sunshine (a rare treat indeed!), the forecast suddenly changed. The very week we'd planned to host children in our not-so-waterproof tent, the heavens opened. Wind whipped at the tent sides while rain drummed relentlessly overhead. Oh, bother!
"Of all the weeks for the weather to turn," I cried, watching water drip from the tent poles overhead. "We've had beautiful weather for a month, and now this?"
An Unyielding Grey
I thumbed through my Bible again, looking for some verse to leap off the page and shout, "This is the way—walk in it!" Silence.
I prayed until my knees ached. "Lord, just tell me what to do. Should I continue in this particular area of the ministry, or should I spend more time in this other area? Should we continue in our current "game plan" or pursue a new approach? A simple yes or no would be lovely!"
But heaven remained quiet. No burning bush. No writing on the wall. Just the persistent, foggy grey of uncertainty.
Have you been there? That spiritual twilight zone where you've done everything "right"—prayed fervently, studied Scripture diligently, sought godly counsel—and still find yourself standing at a crossroads without a traffic light in sight?
It's maddening, isn't it? Especially for those of us who like plans, clarity, and knowing exactly which box to tick.
The Lord of Breakthroughs
Have you ever felt like you were fighting the same battle over and over again? I certainly have! Whether it's my physical limitations from fibromyalgia or the spiritual heaviness that sometimes settles over Wales, there are days when I wonder if I'll ever see victory.
David knew that feeling all too well. In 2 Samuel 5, we find him facing a familiar foe in a familiar place. The Bible tells us, "But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David" (2 Samuel 5:17). The Philistines—again! And where did they set up camp? In the Valley of Rephaim, otherwise known as the Valley of Giants.
This wasn't David's first rodeo in this valley. The Philistines had a nasty habit of gathering there to attack Israel. Same enemy. Same battlefield. Different day.
In the Valley of Praise
I love a good underdog story, don't you? The Bible is filled with them, but few capture my heart quite like the account in 2 Chronicles 20. Picture this: King Jehoshaphat of Judah receives the terrifying news that a vast army is marching toward Jerusalem. Not just one nation, but three allied forces coming to destroy God's people! Talk about overwhelming odds.
The Bible tells us Jehoshaphat "feared," which seems entirely reasonable given the circumstances. Yet, what he did next provides us with a masterclass in faith. Instead of panicking or immediately strategizing military defense, he "set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah" (2 Chronicles 20:3).
As the people gathered, Jehoshaphat prayed one of the most vulnerable and powerful prayers in Scripture. Then God's Spirit fell on a prophet named Jahaziel with this message: "Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's" (2 Chronicles 20:15).