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For over 25 years Proverbs 31 Ministries' mission has been to intersect God's Word in the real, hard places we all struggle with. That's why we started this podcast. Every episode will feature a variety of teachings from president Lysa TerKeurst, staff members or friends of the ministry who can teach you something valuable from their vantage point. We hope that regardless of your age, background or stage of life, it's something you look forward to listening to each month!
MEREDITH:
Hi friends. Thanks for tuning in to the Proverbs 31 Ministries podcast, where we share biblical truth for any girl in any season. Every episode gives you a solid teaching to challenge your faith, followed by a conversation where we all pull up a chair and unpack what it actually looks like in real life to live by faith. I'm your host, Meredith Brock, here with my co-host, Kaley Olson.
KALEY:
Hey, Meredith. I'm excited to be here with you today, and I just have to acknowledge the season that we're in. By the time this episode releases, it'll be fall-ish for the southern states. We don't, we wanna acknowledge the season of extended summer that you guys are in right now. But fall is just the start of the chaos that comes before the holidays and all of the things. School has started, and as I was thinking about this season of chaos, I went in our testimony bank, and for those of you listening, it's amazing.
KALEY:
We have story after story of women who write in and talk about how the ministry or a program area has helped change their life. but I was perusing the testimonies we have received and came across one that I thought spoke to the chaos of this season. Here's what one woman wrote in:
KALEY:
She says, "I'm that woman who sits in her car for a moment to breathe and pray." And I get that. Do you, do you do that, Meredith? Do you just sit there sometimes-
MEREDITH:
100%
KALEY:
... when you get home? We just sit there. So she does that, too. She went on to say, "I appreciate the morning devotions I receive before work. They speak to my heart and fuel my chaotic days with deep peace." And friends, this woman is referring to our free Encouragement for Today devotions that are emailed every weekday.
KALEY:
If you're listening today and you give to Proverbs 31 Ministries, I wanna take a moment to thank you. Because of your generosity, you're not just enabling Proverbs 31 Ministries to provide free devotions. God is using you. Actually, he's using your generosity and your obedience to him in this area of your life to fuel chaotic days with deep peace for this woman who wrote in, and for many more. So thank you for giving.
MEREDITH:
I really love that. I love knowing we're reaching women with the hope of the gospel- in those moments of like, Super chaos, right?
KALEY:
Right.
MEREDITH:
But I also love knowing that we have partners- across the globe who come alongside us- to make those moments possible. And it's a real blessing to me. our generous donors also make this podcast possible. That's true. And you are about to hear a message from our friend Kaitlin Chapple Rogers all about goodness. She uses the phrase, uh, when you're in a season where there's a thousand little cuts how do you get through it without losing your faith, without distancing yourself from the Lord without just giving up? And I think it's gonna be a real blessing to you today. So, uh, enough of me and Kaley. Let's jump into today's episode.
MEREDITH:
We are so excited to welcome our friend Kaitlin Chappell Rogers to the show today.
KALEY:
Kaitlin, girl, hello. Welcome to Charlotte.
KAITLIN CHAPPELL ROGERS:
Hello.
KALEY:
Welcome to Charlotte-ish.
MEREDITH:
Yeah.
KAITLIN:
Yeah, ish.
KALEY:
We, we, uh- We, we're bringing the South- to the show today.
KAITLIN:
Yeah. We're bringing the South.
MEREDITH:
I love it.
KAITLIN:
And I'm so excited to be back and be with you guys.
KALEY:
I'm so excited you're back too, Kaitlin. We'll just go really country today. I'm just kidding. I'll rein it in. I'll rein it in. Well, guys, this is not the first time that you have heard the sweet Southern voice on the podcast. Kaitlin was on the show earlier this year and shared a teaching with us titled Are You Carrying More Than God Asked You To Carry? And today she's here because we're so excited to share that her new book, She Just Won't Quit, is finally available wherever books are sold. What a gift to the world, Kaitlin. That's amazing. Congratulations.
KAITLIN:
Thank you so much. I'm so excited.
KALEY:
Well, I'm really excited about today's teaching because you're gonna share something that God has taught you through the writing of this message. But before we do that, in honor of this being your very first traditionally published book, I'd love to know, Kaitlin, what's a myth about the book-writing process you'd like to take a moment and debunk for listeners? Like, maybe it's not as glamorous as you think it is, or whatever you wanna say.
KAITLIN:
Yeah, the glamour is thin, for sure. It is definitely a dream come true, but it does not look like, uh, going to a cabin in the woods and writing for three days. Although, hey, if you can swing that, it's a great idea. . I did a few times throughout writing the book like book a hotel for one night while my husband held down the fort, or if I could get away, I would. But the large bulk of writing a book, I know for me at least, and many other author friends, is really done in the nooks and crannies of life. It is, when you can find time.
KAITLIN:
It often doesn't even look like sitting down for a set amount of time during the day because, you know, for those of us with little kids or if you have another job, then you are really trying to fit it in when and where you can. And I think that that just goes with the message of perseverance.
KAITLIN:
We are just doing the best we can with what we have. And God really does provide a way. So lest you think it is, uh, very movie-like, it is not. But it is, it's a gift to do. You just have to do it, uh, when and where you can with what God gives you.
MEREDITH:
I love that, Kaitlin. mostly because I think sometimes we miss, or at least I do, I guess, or forget is probably a better- way to say it. We forget that one of the primary, uh, channels, ways that God uses us for His kingdom is through our words. You know? Yeah. And so I wanna take this opportunity to shamelessly tell our listeners about Compel Pro Writers Training program, because if you have, if you believe, if God has stirred in you this idea that He has a message that He wants you to communicate, then we want you to know that Compel Pro Writers Training program is the place to learn how to get those words out of your heart-
MEREDITH:
and turn them into something that can be used by Him and transformative in someone else's life. And so everybody has to start somewhere, right?
KALEY:
Yeah.
MEREDITH:
And you have to learn the skills of writing, but you also need to be surrounded by other people who are trying to do the same thing as you progress towards this calling on your life. And so we, I couldn't help but tell our listeners today about Compel Pro. And so if you go to compeltraining.com, you can learn all about this resource to help you get those words out of your heart and out of your mind and onto paper- so that God can use them in a powerful way for His kingdom.
MEREDITH:
So that's enough about that. I just couldn't help myself. I wanted to make sure people heard about it at the beginning- of this episode. So okay, okay, it's officially time for Kaitlin. Take it away, my friend. I can't wait to hear what God has on your heart.
KAITLIN:
Thanks, Meredith, and I will say, personally speaking, Compel really did help me so much in the process. It took me almost 10 years to write this book, to get this book deal, to write this specific book, and all along the way, I, had so many really, really memorable moments with Compel teaching that helped me, uh, just grow in my writing and figure out how to do it in the nooks and crannies of life. So hear it from me, an, an author, that Compel is the way to go.
KAITLIN:
But before we dive into today's teaching, I just want to address the fact that you ladies listening probably think I'm absolutely crazy for writing a book on perseverance, and rightfully so. Uh, y'all have listened to Lysa TerKeurst enough to hear her talk about writing books on forgiveness, boundaries, and even making peace with what you can't control, to know that God calls women to write books out of their own struggle.
KAITLIN:
So I need to let you in on a little bit of mine, and this is just scratching the surface. Uh, the past two years of my life have been wild. Writing this book has been a crazy journey. Again, it has been a dream come true, but it has not come without a lot of difficulties. Nothing has been extremely awful or life-altering, but it has felt like a thousand little cuts.
KAITLIN:
And sometimes, a ton of tiny traumas or trials really add up to feel like one big mountain of grief. I wrote this book on perseverance while I was pregnant with a surprise third baby, and he was quite the surprise. It was a third little boy, and he's an absolute gift. But it came as a shock to us. It was the dead heat of an Alabama summer that I was pregnant through, taking care of two other toddler boys and then working from home for Proverbs 31.
KAITLIN:
Again, all while writing this book. Oh, and we moved houses in the midst of all this, and these were all amazing things, so I don't want to complain, but there were a lot of difficulties woven throughout all of the blessings, and the enemy did his best to drag me down. I suffered from extremely low ferritin, low iron, during my pregnancy, which caused a ton of fatigue, and I didn't know about this until the very end of the pregnancy, and that's when I had to get, uh, infusions.
KAITLIN:
And that all caused some pretty intense prenatal depression. I also have a clotting disorder that required me to administer blood thinner shots to myself twice a day, every day, for the duration of the pregnancy. So all of that paired with trying to be a good parent to the boys already here with me earth side and write my first book, I was overwhelmed to say the least.
KAITLIN:
Even as of late, in the past few months leading up to the launch of the book, we have dealt with an ER trip for my middle son with stitches, which he pulled out on his way home from getting stitches. We had to take him back to get more stitches. That is the most middle son thing I've ever heard. Months of dental work for me.
KAITLIN:
I think I had 14 visits over the span of three months, and then a surprise surgery, to remove a growth on my lip. We had sicknesses, financial worries. I even just spoke at a women's conference last week where lightning struck and the power went out right before I went on stage. It truly has felt like one thing after another, and if I'm honest with you, I'm often tempted to believe that I just can't catch a break, that that's my lot in life.
KAITLIN:
But I know that that's what the enemy wants me to believe. I know spiritual warfare is intended to wear us down and make us want to throw in the towel, and I just refuse to give in to that mindset. I love having conversations with women about how we keep going when life throws curve balls, and what it looks like to live lives marked by consistent, everyday perseverance.
KAITLIN:
One common theme I've found among people who press on and don't give up is having a bigger picture in mind, just a perspective shift. For us, as believers, we know how the story ends, and we know it ends with victory because of Jesus. We have been given the gift of knowing how the plot pans out while we are in the middle of it.
KAITLIN:
Imagine watching a movie, sitting on the edge of your seat with fear, worried the hero is about to die. Your friend leans over with a twinkle in her eye as she calmly lets you know that he actually wins in the end. And even though it looks like all hope is lost, the movie ends with victory for the good guy.
KAITLIN:
The next time you see the movie, you have a noticeable peace as you watch the messy middle, and you get to share the comforting news of the happy ending with your worried friends. And that's the life of a believer. While we walk out the messy middle, when all hope seems lost, when it looks like the darkness wins, we have the confidence of knowing how the story ends, that the hero actually wins in the end.
KAITLIN:
Our sealed victory informs our present perseverance. The last page of the book is what keeps us going. Running a race knowing for certain you will cross the finish line and win really changes how you run. It changes how you push through that third lap, how you push through that seventh mile of the half-marathon when you think you can't go anymore.
KAITLIN:
It changes how you run. Now this confidence doesn't mean there won't be pain or struggle. As we've seen before, God promises that there will be trouble in this world, according to John 16:33. But he follows that promise with the assurance that he has already overcome anything and everything we will face.
KAITLIN:
The big traumas, the little ones, and everything in between. We endure life's hardest days with an eternal confidence that surpasses any kind of self-help or inner strength we can muster up.
KAITLIN:
And now, Meredith and Kaley, I would love to talk to you guys for a second just about the difference between self-help and inner strength, and what's the difference between what we muster up and the confidence in God to get us through.
And how have you seen this kind of play out in your own life? How have you accessed that confidence of God rather than mustering up your own strength?
KALEY:
Oh, gosh. I mean, I think I'm a person who thinks about and I would say to some extents worries and tries to kinda think of contingency plans for things all the time. It's one of the things that I think can be like a gift, but it's also not a gift because that's where I tap into my self-help. But when I think about the moments that I truly have relied most on the Lord, it's been the moments where myself wasn't even an option, like in that moment.
KALEY:
And I was, I mean, even going back to what you said, Kaitlin, earlier, a noticeable peace in the midst of the struggle, a noticeable peace is not anything that I can muster up on my own. It is something that comes out- from within when I am not even an option. And I've had the moments where I've been at the doctor and got some really, really devastating news, and in the middle of it, don't know how I didn't crumble.
KALEY:
And the only reason I didn't is because I felt before I went into that appointment, be very open to how this is gonna go. And I was okay. But it's those moments that I try to control and the moments where I'm interjecting myself that I actually have the least peace and I spiral the most, and it's a very interesting contradiction.
MEREDITH:
Kaley, I love that you said, myself wasn't even an option. Because I think I can look back at the last few years for myself, and Kaitlin, what you're talking about, I've had some significant, losses and hardships and really hard things that I've had to face, and I'm a pretty, like, if you, uh, knew me, most people, like, end up describing me as like, "Oh, she's so strong," because I have been through a lot in my life, but the last few years has brought me to that, a whole new place of like, literally okay, I have nothing left.
MEREDITH:
We're at a whole new place of there is no self-help. There is no short-term solution to this. I just have to keep going. And as you said that, Kaley, I, that, one, I wrote it down 'cause I was like, "Yeah, that's exactly what I have faced in my life over the last few years," is that myself wasn't even an option 'cause I was so empty.
MEREDITH:
But it made me think about Jesus in the wilderness. One, and this comes to mind often for me when I am in one of these seasons, and it has... I mean, not, I wish I could say it was a season. It hasn't been a season. It's been a lifestyle for the last few years.
KALEY:
In the world but none of the world.
MEREDITH:
Yes, yes.I really do wish I could say, "Oh, it was just a season. It was a couple months. It was a year." Yeah. But it has gone on and on for me. but I, I come back to this passage a lot when I I'm struggling personally and saying, "I can't do this anymore. Like, when am I gonna get a break? Like, give me a break, Lord. Give me a break." I come back to the passage that one, right before Jesus was sent out into the wilderness, God said, "This is my Son in whom I'm well pleased." So just because- you are in a wilderness, in a, in a m- i- in a place of fe- feeling so emptied, that is not evidence of the, lack of God's love, protection, or goodness in your life.
MEREDITH:
I have to tell myself that regularly. but then Jesus goes out there, y'all, and there is literally He is emptied of Himself. But He is God incarnate. And so he could have chosen so many different things, but he said, "No, I choose the empty." Like, I choose obedience, uh, over my own comfort. And so I don't like that.
MEREDITH:
I don't like anything about that. I wish it wasn't the way. But I think oftentimes that is the way, to intimacy with Christ. and that's what I want more than comfort in this world. So I'm not sure if that's what you were looking for, Kaitlin, but that's what comes to my mind- as I think about, you know, what's, uh, when we, when self-help isn't working. When personal strength-
KAITLIN:
Yeah
MEREDITH:
... and, and mustering up personal strength isn't working. You know? You've taken all your vitamins. Yeah. You got- Yeah ... you got the eight hours of sleep.
KALEY:
You went to the gym.
MEREDITH:
You know? You did all the things. You did all those things and you're still coming up short.
KAITLIN:
Yeah. And even thinking about, you know, you took your vitamins, you had your coffee, you woke up an hour before the kids, you had your time with the Lord. It's like you checked all the boxes, and like you said, you're still coming up short. You're still saying, "Can I please catch a break, Lord?" I love what bo- I, I love both of those answers, so thank you.
KAITLIN:
Because I think that, it just really does sum up that coming to the end of ourselves, that's where, that's kind of where God always wants us, and not because He wants us to suffer, and not because He wants us to go through these trials. He just wants us the way that you just said Jesus showed us. He wants us empty so that He can fill us.
KAITLIN:
I wanna read 2 Corinthians 12:9. It says, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." So when we are empty, when we are at the end of ourselves, when we are begging Him for a break, that's where His power is at its peak.
KAITLIN:
That is where He gets so much more glory than when we do pull up our bootstraps and, and try to keep going. And you know, we can pull up our bootstraps and push through whatever obstacle we are facing. We can probably do that for a while on our own strength, but that kind of strength, it will eventually wear thin because we are humans with limitations.
KAITLIN:
And that's on purpose. God made us that way on purpose so we would need Him. And when we admit our weaknesses, talk about them openly, and surrender them to God, we then boast in His power that can carry us through every mountain we have to climb, every hill we have to get over. God's grace complements our weakness.
KAITLIN:
That's essentially what this is saying. But what is grace? What does that mean as it pertains to our perseverance? Couple more verses I wanna read to you. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
KAITLIN:
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." And then Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
KAITLIN:
Jesus was put through the wringer too, okay? So he is able to sympathize with us in our weaknesses. He's not a high priest that didn't struggle, uh, but he did it without sin. So we get to boldly approach his throne of grace that helps us be strong in our time of need, and he gives us mercy that helps us keep moving.
KAITLIN:
By grace we have been saved through faith, and that means we cannot earn it, but our faith does play a part in it. That doesn't require mustering up our own strength, but instead having faith in a God who is much more powerful than us or the obstacles we face. And this levels the playing field, too. So no one can boast in his or her own might, because God is the one who knit us together for his good works.
KAITLIN:
Everything we are able to do, every time we get up when we are knocked down, it's all grace I think the key to a life of perseverance, a life marked by everyday perseverance, like Meredith said, it's a, it's a lifestyle. You start to realize it's not a season, it's a lifestyle. I think that the key to that is a perspective shift, is living with that ending God has written at the forefront of our minds.
KAITLIN:
That's the single perspective that will help us get back up every time we fall. And again, this perspective does not bypass our brokenness, but it gives us the courage to offer our ashes to God, and then watch him multiply and shift them into something beautiful. Knowing it is finished because of Christ's work on the cross doesn't give us a pass to give up and trudge through life with a who-cares attitude.
KAITLIN:
It's actually quite the opposite. Because of the confidence we have, we get to finish the race with an attitude of freedom and focus, knowing there is goodness that awaits, even when we feel the grief and groans of present sufferings. You can't tell me you don't walk with a pep in your step at work, at the grocery store, or even at the gym when you know you have an exciting event or vacation planned in the next few days.
KAITLIN:
While every day as a Christian won't include that pep, there is a certain sparkle we have about us when we live thinking about what's waiting for us after our days on Earth come to an end. The peace and joy we feel about an upcoming trip can't compare to the way our hearts leap at the thought of a worry-free, pain-free, tear-free eternity with the one who created us to worship him.
KAITLIN:
At the end of the day, this is the only way we can practice everyday perseverance. If it was all for nothing, it would be much easier to give up. But our confidence in Christ, the way we know he shows up for us at our weakest moments, and the victory he has sealed for us now and forever, can all fuel our faith and set us free.
KAITLIN:
So what does this look like practically? How do we actually live this out? For me, when I'm facing a challenging situation as a parent, as a wife, as a friend, or even just a difficult moment in general, I have to practice pausing and picturing myself in the throne room with Jesus. Even if it's only for 60 seconds, I go to him to hand him my worries and my worship, and listen and wait for his response.
KAITLIN:
And I always receive grace, kindness, compassion, and love, and then I'm able to move forward with that same motivation. This is a practice, so I don't always do it well, and I still have moments where I snap or get sucked into the hard moment. But the more we practice everyday perseverance, the more it becomes a rhythm. Muscle memory is the key
KAITLIN:
And then remembering. Remembering God's past faithfulness is a really helpful practice for me in regard to perseverance. I do this a lot with journaling, and I even look back at old photos in my phone, and then I recount all the ways He has gotten me through before, and it fuels my faith in a way that reminds me He will do it again.
KAITLIN:
Your own testimony can encourage you on your darkest days. Remembrance is such an important part of our faith and serves us well in seasons when we are struggling to overcome what's in front of us. And then hearing other people's testimonies. That's an amazing way, and a major way, that I'm encouraged to keep going.
KAITLIN:
Whether it's a personal friend, someone at church, or even a stranger that we encounter, it is so powerful to ask questions and hear their stories of how God has pursued them and helped them press on. There is never a shortage of stories of God's faithfulness in people's lives. We just have to ask and listen.
KAITLIN:
God has broken every chain, covered every sin, canceled every scheme, and never stops showing up to make a way for us to cross over on dry ground. His persistent pursuit of our hearts is ultimately how we persevere. We don't give up because He never gives up on us.
KAITLIN:
I have a friend currently walking through a really difficult season. Her husband has Stage Four colon cancer, and we were talking the other day and I asked her why she hasn't quit. Her answer was quick, and it was simple. "God hasn't quit on me." He hasn't quit on you either, friend. He is still in the business of showing up and working miracles, even when we can't see what He is doing in the background of our lives.
KAITLIN:
At the end of the day, we know it is finished and it is good, and He promises to pursue us with an unmatched perseverance that is sure to keep propelling us forward. We get to believe backwards from a place of blessed assurance. We get to be certain He knew precisely how our lives would play out, and gave us each the perfect dose of perseverance to press on, no matter what.
KAITLIN:
He is the pioneer and perfecter of faith, according to Hebrews 12:12, and that makes it fully possible for us to persevere when we walk in His love, His power, and His truth. We are never walking or running or crawling alone. We are hemmed in and held by Him, never wavering, because of the firm foundation we have in Him.
KAITLIN:
We just won't quit, because what we have waiting for us is worth what it takes to keep going, and keep telling the world about the one who never quit on us and never will. I would love to leave us with two questions to ponder today. How does knowing how the story ends impact the way you live your life in the here and now?
KAITLIN:
And what are some practical ways you can practice living with the secured victory of the cross in mind even today? I'd love to pray for you as we close out our time together. Lord, I just thank you for the woman listening. I thank you that you have given her every single thing she needs for her exact life so that she can keep going, so that she doesn't have to muster up her own strength, so that she does not need self-help.
KAITLIN:
I just ask you, Lord, that when she comes to the end of herself begging you for a break, wondering if the thousand little cuts are ever gonna stop coming, that you will just meet her right where she is. Maybe she's there right now, maybe she's listening today, and that's exactly where she is. She's at the end of herself needing you, needing a touch from heaven.
KAITLIN:
I just pray that you will meet her right now, that she will experience that noticeable peace that passes all understanding, that if she enters a boardroom, a doctor's office, her child's room, her child's school, her workspace, her home, a marriage that's struggling, wherever it is that you have her, God, that she will notice there's a peace that is carrying her and there's a strength that is carrying her.
KAITLIN:
I ask that you supply her with that, Lord, tenfold. I ask that you just continue to give her manna for the day and mercy for the moment, and, Lord, that you would just go behind her, beside her, in front of her as she encounters these obstacles, Lord, that she doesn't feel she can face, and that you will help her look back and remember and recount all the times you have carried her through before.
KAITLIN:
It's in your name we pray, amen.
KALEY:
Amen. Kaitlin, that was so helpful. I think for me, one of the things that I just have been challenged by in life lately with the idea of perseverance, 'cause I'm kinda... I mean, I think all of us have something we're going through. I mean, well, not something, Kaitlin, you have things.
KALEY:
Many, many, many things that you're going through. Meredith alluded to it. I'm allud- I mean, I could give you a laundry list of things as well, but I think what I'm kinda processing with the topic of perseverance is how it challenges how I define God's faithfulness. And if I think about it through the lens of what your friend said, whose husband has cancer, she said, "God hasn't given up on me."
KALEY:
And I have to ask myself, is perseverance just about getting through it, or is it about remembering that I can go through it because he's with me?
KAITLIN:
Yeah.
KALEY:
and what am I relying on? That self- self-help, but even am I relying on the relationship? Like am I close enough to the God who is faithful and I, am I trusting him like a friend to walk me through this?
KALEY:
Or is everything I know about him in my head, and is it making my way to my heart so that I can walk in whatever season I'm in? so I don't really have, like, a question. W- But that's, that's the thought-
MEREDITH:
Yeah
KALEY:
... that I have.
MEREDITH:
Well, I'll, I'll build on that a little bit, Kaley, 'cause I was sitting here thinking about how y- I don't know a lot of I mean, maybe some of our listeners would say, "I, I read self-help books all the time." . "I love self-help." I think most of us would not identify, like clearly say, "This is what self-help is in our life." And I was just sitting here thinking Self-help, let's define that a little bit. . That's problem-solving for ourselves.
MEREDITH:
Really, whatever it is- you might. And I think oftentimes, even Kaitlin, as you were talking- I wrote this down, that I love that you said one of the practical things that you can do is to remember God's goodness, his faithfulness. You know? And when you're in the middle of one of those, those moments where you're just flooded, right? You're flooded with, you know, the... I'm just gonna name off a few of yours. The stitches, the financial situation-
KALEY:
The lip.
MEREDITH:
... pregnancy, the lip.
KAITLIN:
The lip.
MEREDITH:
The house. You're flooded, okay? We've all had that moment where it's just like, whoa. . All the problems come, and I think our natural instinct, okay is that we go, "Okay, problem-solving time." . "What can I do?" And that's a form- that's self-help, guys. We're helping ourselves. . You know? And there's not nece- that's not necessarily like, don't, don't just lay down and be like, "It's fine. Bleed out on the couch, son." No. Like, get him to the, get him to the ER, get the stitches. But I think it's that shift from, "I can figure all of this out, and I'm fine"- to- "Lord, Lord, you are good. You are faithful, and I can trust you." . And that, that step of remembrance kind of feels like, I think we can give it lip service- and just be like, "Oh yeah, write your gratitude journal."
MEREDITH:
You know? When it is really important, you guys- Okay ... if you look at scripture, all throughout scripture, what did God say to Israel?. "I know you're gonna forget. Go erect an altar." Yeah. "Go stack some stones." So this is not new. Like, this is not a new thing in the busyness of our world.
MEREDITH:
It's because God calls us sheep. And sheep have the shortest memory. And we, we can't take care of ourselves. . We are sheep. . We cannot, you know? And so in our feeble attempt of trying to care for ourselves, to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps, we're gonna fall over and land our face in the mud, you know?
MEREDITH:
And so I just think this is such a good reminder for us to pause and say no, this act of remembrance- Is not some cute, that's not some cute self-help trick, guys.
KAITLIN:
Yeah, no.
MEREDITH:
That, that was an ordin- like, I don't know if you could go as far as to call it an ordinance, but it was something God told humanity to do from the beginning of the Old Testament. You see it everywhere, and God doesn't tell His people to do something- if there is not benefit to us in doing it. You know? And so, it is, this was convicting for me to remind- like, oh my gosh, I cannot overlook the intentionality of remembering God's faithfulness in the midst of the flood of a million problems that I have to solve today.
MEREDITH:
You know? Yeah. So Kaitlin, thank you-
KALEY:
That's great
MEREDITH:
... for such a good reminder today for us- to hold onto no matter where we find ourselves, whether we're in that flooded season or in, we're in a season of lightness, we cannot forget. We cannot forget the act of remembering God's goodness and faithfulness to us.
MEREDITH:
So thank you.
KALEY:
Yeah.
KAITLIN:
Yeah.
KALEY:
Absolutely. It's the whole idea of everyday perseverance, too- that I think is a good note- to land on because- I mean, what you said is that we're all in a season, and the season is relentless, and it's never gonna give up, and so- or it's never going to let up, and so there is an everyday perseverance that all of us are required to have and required to grow in, and an everyday dependence on the Lord because all we can think about is how He is providing for us today, too. Not necessarily tomorrow and all the tomorrows after that.
KALEY:
So Kaitlin, we're so grateful to have gotten to learn from you on the podcast today. I wanna take a moment to encourage our listeners to check out her new book titled She Just Won't Quit. We've linked it in the show notes below. And y'all, it means the world when you can support new authors like Kaitlin and anybody else that we've mentioned on the podcast before. So go show her some love wherever books are sold.
MEREDITH:
That's all for today, friends. At Proverbs 31 Ministries, we believe when you know the truth and live the truth, it really will change everything.