Encourage, Equip, Empower
Each month our very own amazing writers from South Texas publish a series of blog posts written with you in mind. Our desire is to encourage, equip, and empower you through stories, experiences, and insights from our writers and from God’s Word.
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Joy Beyond Understanding
“ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 Summertime in the South is not for the faint of heart. Temperatures that soar to unbearable heights, iced tea that can’t seem to stay iced, and leather car interior that is torture whenever you get in…
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Peace in a Wild Workplace
I do not work in a church. I am involved in ministry full-time, but I also work a secular job to provide for my family. I don’t care where you work, whether it be in a church or out; if you work with people, it can be difficult. Feeling called to ministry, I have asked…
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Peace In the Wild
When I think about the phrase “peace in the wild,” I picture a leopardess in the middle of a jungle. I imagine the sound of monkeys hooting in the background while she cleans her paws. She’s laying down, feeling peaceful, she’s not worried about where her next meal will come from. She’s not anxious about…
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When the Rains Delay: Lessons from a Spiritual Drought
My family and I used to live in the Gulf Coast area, where it would rain almost every day. Just last year, we moved to a small town in Columbus, Texas. We live in the middle of nowhere. Our neighbor has his own little farm where he raises these beautiful milk cows. It’s breathtaking when I catch the sun rising or setting over the land, but there’s a problem: it hasn’t rained in almost a month, and the grass is slowly dying. This isn’t good for the cows or other farmer’s crops. The county has already put burn bans in place and in some areas, it’s recommended to conserve water. I remember a time in my life when I had experienced a drought- only it wasn’t happening to the crops; no, it was happening to my soul.
A spiritual drought can be described as a period of feeling disconnected from God, a lack of spiritual vitality, or a decline in your faith or prayer life. This was me. I had let years of disappointment turn into bitterness. I couldn’t understand why God wasn’t answering my prayers. Didn’t he care how miserable I was? Couldn’t he see the hurt I had felt? Where was God? Why wasn’t he there? These were the questions I kept asking myself. It wasn’t until a friend talked to me, and helped me realize the problem.
Deuteronomy 11:13-15
13 “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.”
This message was originally given to the Israelites after the Lord had brought them out of slavery from Egypt. If you continue reading, God was warning them that if they didn’t stay the course and live according to his word, then it wouldn’t rain.
Deuteronomy 11:16-17
16 “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.”
When crops experience drought stress, their photosynthesis declines and they struggle to absorb essential nutrients, ultimately reducing yields. Drought conditions also restrict nutrient movement in the soil, which can result in plant deficiencies. Additionally, drought-stressed forage crops like hay or silage may accumulate excessive nitrates, increasing the risk of livestock poisoning. Just like the rain provides cleansing, growth, and renewal, God does the same for us. The longer I allowed myself to sit and wallow in pity, the further I was from the rain—from God. I wasn’t loving him with all my heart, mind or soul. I was too consumed with what I wanted to see over what God wanted for me.
We must get out of the way, so God can do what he wants to do. It took the Israelites over 40 years to understand this. God proved himself to be faithful, and they still didn’t move out of the way. This cost many of them the promised land and the harvest.
When you think of a physical harvest, you think of mature crops like grain, fruit, or vegetables from a field, but what would a spiritual harvest look like?
This could include but is not limited to:
- Gifts or talents
- Healing
- Spiritual guidance
- Finances
- Miracles
- Salvation
In my case, I was looking for spiritual guidance in my life. There were 4 things I knew that I needed to do:
- Seek God’s word daily; it wasn’t enough to know it, I needed to study it too.
- Pray with hopefulness, not desperation.
- Fast the distractions in my life. It’s hard to listen for God’s voice when you’re distracted all the time.
- Trust that God will do what he says he’ll do.
After almost a month of dedicating myself to the Lord in this manner, I could hear his voice clearly. He had answered my prayers. I knew what direction to go in, and I just needed to follow through with it. It wasn’t an easy task either, but the Lord had ordained it; I started to feel hopeful again.
I’d love to tell you that God brought the full harvest right away, but that’s not what happened. It was about a 2-year process of seeking, praying, and trusting. We went through some more droughts, and rainstorms along the way but in the end, the Lord proved to be faithful. Just like he brought rain to Columbus this week, he brought us a beautiful harvest, that was more than we could have imagined.
I want to encourage you to continue seeking God, praying with an open heart, and trusting Him even when the road feels uncertain. Your harvest might not arrive overnight, but each step of faith brings you closer to what He has prepared for you. Remember, the Lord is faithful, and as you lean into His promises, He will guide you through every season—droughts and rainstorms alike—until your own beautiful harvest comes to fruition.
Psalm 136:1-
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”
by Melinda B.
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When the Harvest Hasn’t Come—Joy in the Waiting
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. James 5:7-8
I can’t count how many times I have stood on the hilltop that overlooks our city in the mountains of SE Asia, my eyes taking in the red clay rooftops, rolling green mountains, and sprawling rice fields that we have called home the past ten years. Each time I am struck with two thoughts:
Oh, how I love this place the Lord has called us to.
and
How much longer, Lord, until we see the harvest?
In our early years of life here, I expected things to move slowly. We had much to learn—language, culture, how to exist and thrive in a new country. After a few years, though, when words came easier and things felt less foreign, I thought we would really see some forward movement for the Kingdom. When we didn’t, and our sowing wasn’t seeming to produce any fruit, I began to battle discouragement.
Lord, if you want these people to know You, and we want them to know You, why aren’t we seeing them come to faith? What is taking so long? Does it even matter that we’re here?
While it is right to work for and long for the harvest, if we fix our eyes on visible, measurable results, we run the risk of losing the joy of partnering with God to see His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. If we view our labor for the Lord as transactional—I do this, then I get that—we will find ourselves frustrated when we encounter long seasons of waiting for the harvest to come. We’ll be tempted to stop praying, stop sharing, stop believing that “we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
We must remember that God is not pleased with productivity, but obedience.
If I labor for ten more years in these mountains and never see the harvest, but have walked in obedience to the Lord, that is enough. If I pray and sow and wait for the Kingdom to come in the lives of those I love who are far from Christ but never get to lead them to Him, I have still been faithful. It’s hard for us to comprehend that we plant and water but God makes things grow. (1 Cor. 3:7) And because of this, we might find that much of our time is not spent reaping a harvest, but waiting for it to come. That’s why it is imperative that we learn to be joyful, even when the harvest hasn’t come yet.
How do we find joy in the waiting? I’d like to share three ways I’ve found joy while waiting for the harvest we have worked and prayed for here the last ten years.
1. Remember that co-laboring with God is a joyful privilege.
It’s easy to get focused on the results (or lack thereof) and forget the incredible privilege it is to be counted worthy of being a co-laborer in God’s Kingdom. We GET to do this! It’s in God’s abundant kindness and mercy that He invites us to be a part of what He is doing in the world, not because of our own greatness, but to display His. This should bring us so much joy!
2. Remember that our value is not in what we produce, but in Whose we are.
Oftentimes when I am feeling discouraged about waiting for the harvest, it’s because I’ve wrapped my identity and worth up in what I can produce. We can experience joy in the waiting when we disconnect our value from productivity and remember Jesus loved us so much that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) We cannot earn His love—it’s ours in all its fullness already. Even Jesus at His baptism, before He ever did a single miracle, pleased the Father just because of who He was. (Matthew 3:17)
3. Remember that nothing is wasted when working for the Lord.
The Lord has been so kind to us to give us little glimpses over the years of what He is doing, even as we wait for the harvest. Just as a farmer notices the signs of new life and growth in seasons of waiting, we can pay attention to the small changes and give God praise for them, cultivating joy in our hearts from a spirit of gratitude. When I get to have a spirit-ordained conversation with an unbelieving friend, when the Lord opens the door for the gospel to be shared with someone who has never heard, when a need is shared and I’m able to pray for them, when a believer is encouraged by our time together—all these things help me remember that God IS moving and working, even when we can’t fully see it, and as I give Him thanks for these glimpses of His Spirit at work, He renews my joy so I can press on.
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
It takes audacious faith to believe that God is working when we are still waiting for the harvest. What are you waiting on God for? Join me in praying this prayer and be encouraged that there God has a purpose for every season, even seasons of waiting.
Eternal God,
Who created times and seasons
yet is not bound by them,
as I find myself in a season
of waiting
I cannot comprehend
how Your ways and Your plans
are always in motion,
yet to my impatient heart
You seem to be still and silent,
unmoving and unresponsive.
Lord, give me faith to trust
that even in my waiting,
You are ever working.
It’s a mystery to me—
the ebb and flow of Your Spirit,
at work within and around me,
sometimes quiet and steady,
sometimes crashing like a wave.
Your ways are beyond my
comprehension,
yet my finite mind longs to
understand.
In my eagerness to see You
move around me,
give me grace to sense You
move within me.
As I wait,
assure me that
Your plans have not paused,
and that my purpose is not
on the other side of the silence,
but it’s here
in the waiting
that You are doing something
that can only take shape
in my forced stillness
and my slow surrender.
Gentle Jesus,
meet me here in my waiting
and teach me how to wait well,
for You are no stranger to it,
yet You walked on this earth
with a steadiness of heart
and a posture of peace.
And You wait even now
for Your glorious return—
a Groom longing for
His bride—
so if You are familiar with waiting,
perhaps You can only make me like You
in mine.
When I grow restless
and start to doubt,
whisper Your promises
to my heart—
that You are with me,
that You will never forsake me,
that You are working all things
together for my good.
When I grow weary
and start to despair,
remind me of Your
faithfulness—
that You are my Shepherd,
that You are leading me,
that goodness and mercy
will follow me forever.
So as I wait for You
and for Your hand to move,
may You find me faithful
to continue trusting,
to continue working,
to continue sowing
into the ground You’ve placed me on,
knowing that at just the right time—
Your time, not mine—
the harvest will come
because my waiting
is the soil where
Your faithfulness grows.
Amen
Prayer from @liturgiesforalifeabroad
by Heather F.
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God Brings the Harvest
Photo by Binyamin Mellish on Pexels.com Mark 4:26-29
The Parable of the Seed Growing
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
There is so much about God’s creation that is a mystery to us all. Even with all the scientific advancements and miraculous discoveries mankind has made, God has given us the gift of the Earth and so much within it and we know so little comparatively. I love the imagery of the man scattering seed here. It can be seen as a passive throwing here and there and moving on with life, but some translations call the man a farmer. I grew up around farmers, and all their planting was planned, intentional, and with a specific outcome in mind.
Farming is hard work. There is much planning work in each stage of the process. If farmers scattered their seed haphazardly much would get lost, blow away, or grow too quickly in shallow ground. A good farmer knows that a harvest isn’t reaped in a day nor is one planned, planted, or picked in one either. Some of my favorite parts of reaping a harvest is the prepping stage. The stage where you pray about where and what the Lord would have you plant.
Many times when I’m planning my day or week I ask the Lord to guide me not only where I need to go, but to places and people where I may plant seeds in ready hearts, harvest a joyful heart, or at minimum ready a harden heart of stone so someone else might come along and plant a seed of truth. Later another could water that truth with love and fellowship. And when fully matured by God, another worker can come and harvest. This is mankind scattering seed intentionally. When we offer up every aspect of our lives and schedules to God we are obediently living our faith out and trusting the Lord for the harvest.
This parable reveals to us that the word of God is at work within us even as we sleep. As a type A person this is so hard for me to grasp. I want to be able to contribute to what God is doing. My obedience to be used is what God wants, but I like a practical hands on, or let’s just say it, a controlling approach. Here Jesus is revealing through this glimpse into Heaven that even as we sleep the seed that has been scattered sprouts and grows. What a relief. The weight of eternity is not on our shoulders; it’s safely in the hands of the one who made all things. We can sleep well knowing that God is the one who produces the harvest.
Have you ever replayed a conversation over and over in your mind? Perhaps had a confrontation you are less than proud of that plays on repeat in your thoughts? Ever wondered if you are the reason someone turns away form Jesus? If I can offer one sliver of wisdom I have gleaned from years in ministry. You, my sweet friend, are not that powerful. Yes, our words and actions are important and can become stumbling blocks for others, but the God of the harvest planned for our humanness. He knew we would stumble, mess up, and fail. Perhaps that is why he gives us so many opportunities to scatter seeds, because not every chance we get will be our utmost. The real work is left up to God, and our greatest contribution is our faith in his will and ability to bring beauty out of dry fallow hearts and cultivate a beautiful harvest.
A planted seed, many times, can go unnoticed. A verse shared, a bible story read, a prayer prayed—all seeds that can seem like they don’t amount to much. Only God knows how each encounter we have effects eternity. Many times, I see other Christians living lives of obedience or offering their lives up to the Lord in miniature sacrifices throughout the day that even they don’t know have been witnessed by another. Other’s lives of faith impact us without them knowing. No act of love, faith, sacrifice, or obedience is unseen or unused by our Father.
This is the glory of Christ’s work in us. He takes something as precious and little as a seed, plants it, and in His timing cultivates something worthy of Heaven. The most precious harvest of all, a soul joyfully proclaiming Jesus as King!
This parable shows us both, what God can do in and with creation and what mankind can do. The man here does what his responsibility is, planting the seed. When we plant seeds the intention should always be to reap a harvest. Not to just do a duty, but to intentionally work for the glory of God. May we always feel the weight of our words and presence in the lives of others and live audacious lives as one who scatters far and wide trusting that the Lord God will transform our little acts of obedience for his glory. May it be on earth, in our daily lives, as it is in Heaven.
by MaKenzie V.
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Sowing In Tears
Photo by aj povey on Pexels.com Do you ever feel like you are trapped in a cycle of difficult seasons? Like just as one comes close to an end, something else starts falling apart? Winter after winter with no relief? I certainly have. There are a myriad of emotions involved in difficult times but I think the one that is the greatest hurdle for me is fatigue. When you’ve cried so much that it seems to no longer relieve the tension inside and you’ve prayed until you’ve run out of words and yet, nothing seems to change. All that is left is an overwhelming fatigue that sleep cannot dispel. It’s a fatigue that is not rooted in the absence of rest but rather the absence of peace.
I love the book of Psalms. If there is one thing that the psalmists understood and never failed to communicate, it is raw emotion: fear, victory, grief, joy, pain, relief and anguish. In my humble opinion, Psalms is the most accurate description in the Bible (maybe in the world) of the human experience up close. In its pages you get to ride the roller coaster of emotion, all the while experiencing it through the lens of those holding tightly to the hand of God. I can hear the cry of my own heart as the psalmists call out to God for healing, protection and connection. I can hear it especially when the writers dare to cry out in anger, fear, pain and waiting. I am so thankful that God included the Psalms in His words to us.
I find that in the past several years, I’ve spent more and more time in the Psalms and in the story of King David. I won’t (or can’t) share a lot of details about my personal seasons in recent history, but if you have been where I am (or are here now) you don’t need me to–you have your own seasons to reference. I have linked a song below that I have listened to on repeat recently. It’s not a new one and I liked it back when I first heard it 20 years ago, but now it means so much more. It’s all about seasons and how God uses them. It’s a huge relief to believe that God is using this time for a purpose and that all the pain and waiting will not be wasted.
Natural seasons have a job to do. The path that God laid out for the earth to travel from summer, to autumn, to winter, to spring, and around again and again is the path that births and supports life on this planet and allows us to grow and harvest food. Just like the natural world, God has set us all on a path that carries us through seasons intended to create and nurture new life in our hearts and relationships. One line in the song describes winter by saying “even now in death, You open doors for new life to enter.”
In Psalm 126 the psalmist describes the pain of the people of Israel, having been in captivity in Babylon for 70 years before God delivered them. (Talk about a long season of waiting.) Just as they are finally able to come home, they return to cities and lands that had fallen into disrepair, and in some cases deliberate destruction in their absence. Their hearts rejoiced to be free, only to break again at the sight of what had become of their home. At this moment the psalmist offers thanks for their freedom, and they get to work reclaiming Jerusalem. He writes “those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” (vs. 5-6)
As women, mothers, wives and breadwinners, it is often not an option for us to just sit down and quit when it gets hard. We work, take care of our families, go to jobs, and never stop, all while our hearts might be breaking. We might be holding our breath and enduring pain waiting on God to bring us out of our current season. Sometimes seasons stretch for so long that we even stop asking God to deliver us and start asking God to just help us to survive it.
Can I encourage you today? I cannot end this season for you, and I am here with you. If I could stop yours and you could stop my pain, I know that as sisters we would do that for each other in a heartbeat. Psalm 30:5 says that “weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” This season will end. The morning will come. And in the interim, God is working. New life and fresh revival is being cultivated under the soil of this frozen ground watered by your tears. I have been in a dark night of the soul before, and I can honestly say that the woman that walked into that season is not the same one that walked out. Growth and healing happened in that season.
Growth and healing are words that we often associate with good things in our minds, and that is true, but what we are usually thinking of is the time after the growth and healing is complete. The actual work of healing and growth is messy and painful while it’s happening. Childbirth, for example, is messy, vulnerable and touted as the most intense pain a woman can endure, and yet we keep signing up to have more babies because the joy that follows is so worth it.
I do not at all want this to sound dismissive of the difficult time you might be walking through now but I want to encourage you that no matter how long your winter, no matter how long the night, the seasons are still progressing and God is still working. This season will not last forever and there will be joy in the harvest.
“So it is with You and how You make me new with every season’s change, and so it will be as You are recreating me. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring….” Every Season by Nicole Nordeman
by Stephanie Sharp
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Fear of Rejection
Photo by Diva Plavalaguna on Pexels.com I’m used to not belonging.
As a child, my family moved six times before I turned seven. We would go on to move two more times—once when I was 14 and again at 18. I felt like the perpetual new girl, always stepping into new places and trying to find my way into new friend groups. I would look at the established friendships my peers had, most of them growing up in one neighborhood—or at least one city—their whole lives and wondered if I would ever feel that same sense of belonging.
In my adult life I would go on to move to two different states and then eventually to a foreign country where my un-belonging was more pronounced than ever. I’m naturally an extrovert and enjoy making friends, but even for a people-person, the constant tension of trying to assimilate, connect, and belong is exhausting.
As a result of my nomadic life, I developed an intense fear of rejection. I couldn’t stand the thought of people not wanting me around, or even worse, forgetting me once I was gone. So, I became a people-pleaser. I figured, I can avoid rejection if I can always find something to contribute to a relationship, to make people want me around because of what I can add. I worked hard to learn how to read a room, to recognize a need or a gap, and then to find a creative way to fill it. I became one of those people everyone loves to have on a team because I could figure it out and get it done. My fear of rejection catapulted me into a vicious cycle of pushing past healthy limits to try and keep people happy, but still never fully feeling like I belonged.
What I saw as a way to belong and be loved actually led to burnout and isolation, leaving me feeling more alone than ever because I was placing my value and identity in being accepted for what I could offer rather than who I am.
We are created with a desire to love, and to be loved. It’s a primal need, a God-ordained necessity. While God is the ultimate source of love and acceptance, He also made us in His image as a relational being—just as God exists in relationship as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are designed to live in relationship with Him and with others. The difference is, God is perfect and reflects His perfect image onto us, but humans are imperfect and cast shadows of brokenness onto us (and we onto them) via our relationships. We cannot hope to find the same perfect unity of relationship that exists wthin the trinity in our human relationships.
Whether or not people accept us holds no bearing on our value or identity, whether or not we are lovable or desirable. Jesus Himself, perfect Son of God as He was, experienced the deepest forms of rejection: rejection of His family members (John 7:5), rejection of His hometown (John 4:44), rejection of His people (John 1:11), rejection of His dearest friend at His greatest moment of need (John 18:25). Despite the many ways Christ was rejected, He was confident in His identity and firm in His calling. He did not let the rejection push Him towards performance or people-pleasing. He walked steadfastly in the purpose He was made for. Jesus even promised that if we follow Him, we will experience similar rejection:
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” John 15:18-19
We can find freedom from the fear of rejection when we, like Jesus, know that our true value and worth is not in acceptance by the world, but in being fully accepted and loved by God. We do not have to spend our days striving to earn belonging—it’s ours already through the gift of salvation. People-pleasing has no place at the cross, because we cannot earn God’s love through being “good enough.” All our efforts fall devastatingly short, but praise be to God that He does not desire our effort, but our surrender.
In John 17, Jesus prays a vulnerable and heartfelt prayer for His disciples. He knew the path ahead of them would not be easy, and He wanted to intercede on their behalf. Not only does He pray for the disciples, but He prays for “all those who will ever believe in me through their message.” That’s you and me! And His prayer was all about His followers belonging to God and experiencing unity and love with Christ, the Father, and the body of Christ. I encourage you to take a few moments to read all of John 17 and be reminded that we do not have to fear rejection because God loves us and is with us, no matter what we may face.
Heather F.
About STX Women
We are the Women’s Ministries branch of the South Texas Assemblies of God.
Women across South Texas desire a community where we celebrate each other and share each other’s burdens.
Together, we walk out our God-given purpose in our family, church, and community!
Our passion and love for Christ unite us to reach the lost at home and across the world.
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