{"id":1939,"date":"2025-11-23T16:04:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T06:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/?p=1939"},"modified":"2025-11-23T16:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T06:04:10","slug":"a-light-stick-or-a-cart-wheel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/2025\/11\/23\/a-light-stick-or-a-cart-wheel\/","title":{"rendered":"A Light Stick, or a Cart Wheel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Reading<\/strong>: Isa 28:24-29<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Verse:<\/strong> Isa 28:29 The LORD of Heaven\u2019s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dear Brothers and Sisters,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do we truly believe Romans 8:28\u201329? That every trial, every stressor, every disappointment is designed by God for our good\u2014to shape us into the image of His Son? I know I have moments when I question that. At the very least, I wrestle with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I continue to study stress resilience, I\u2019m learning that questioning isn\u2019t wrong. It\u2019s healthy to \u201cnotice\u201d what\u2019s happening in our minds and bodies, and then \u201cname\u201d what we observe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>I can tell I\u2019m frustrated. Why?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I\u2019m disappointed with God because\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I\u2019m upset with my spouse because\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s a healthy starting point. But we can\u2019t stop there. We must take the next step: \u201cdistance\u201d ourselves from the emotion and seek God\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Scripture Insight:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Isaiah 28:24\u201329 offers a beautiful metaphor. God is like a wise farmer. He knows what kind of soil He\u2019s working with. He knows what kind of crop He\u2019s cultivating. And He knows exactly what tools are needed to bring about the harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some spices are gently beaten with a stick.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Others require a threshing wheel or even a cart wheel to crush them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But none are pulverized or completely rendered useless. The farmer knows when to stop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>What kind of spice are you? What tool is God using to shape you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Application:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A quote from <em>None but the Hungry Heart<\/em> says it well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cBy the time that action reached you it had become the will of God for you, since to a yielded believer there are no second causes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean what happened was right. But it does mean that God permitted it for a wise and loving purpose. No trial can reach us without His permission. And every trial is an invitation to see Jesus more clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As C.T. Studd once said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cAll that we pass through is that we may get a fresh view of the Lord Jesus\u2026 but often we are so occupied with ourselves and the circumstances, that we fail to behold the glory of the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s not miss the glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Prayer:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Father, help me trust that You are the wise farmer. When I feel crushed, remind me that You know what You\u2019re doing. Teach me to notice, name, and then lift my eyes to You. Let me behold Your glory in the midst of my stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Reflection Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What trial are you facing that feels unjust or overwhelming?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have you taken time to name what you\u2019re feeling\u2014and then seek God\u2019s perspective?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What \u201ctool\u201d might God be using to shape you right now?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can you reframe your stress as an invitation to see Jesus more clearly?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reading: Isa 28:24-29 Key Verse: Isa 28:29 The LORD of Heaven\u2019s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom. Dear Brothers and Sisters, Do we truly believe Romans 8:28\u201329? That every trial, every stressor, every disappointment is designed by God for our good\u2014to shape us into the image of His Son? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48601,130614],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1939","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-dear-brothers-and-sisters","7":"category-resilience","8":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1939\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-watters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}