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Vision Check – Jocelyn Green
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Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

When Rob and I married, we chose the hymn “Be Thou My Vision” to be played while we lit our unity candle. I had always loved the lyrics, but I had no idea how perfect they would prove to be, not just for a single moment during a wedding ceremony, but for the day-to-day military lifestyle I was entering into.

So much of how we think, feel and live depends upon our vision—what we choose to see in any given situation. In fact, I believe that the difference between being simply concerned or being consumed by worry rides on where we tend to focus our sight.

In her book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Joanna Weaver says, “Pastor and teacher Gary E. Gilley sums up the difference like this: ‘Worry is allowing problems and distress to come between us and the heart of God. A legitimate concern presses us closer to the heart of God and causes us to lean and trust on Him all the more.’ Concern draws us to God. Worry pulls us from Him” (page 38).

We will always have something to be concerned about. But if we have done everything we can to help solve the problem and still find ourselves obsessing over it, we’ve crossed that line from concern to worry and find ourselves in dangerous territory.

The best way to get rid of the negative thoughts is to crowd them out with something else bigger and more beautiful — worship of the One who holds everything in His powerful and capable hands. In other words, stop focusing on the root of your worries and shift your gaze to the Lord. It won’t make the troubles disappear, but it sure will help you to stop staring at them all day long!

King David was a master at this. In the beginning of Psalm 10, he cries out in anguish to God, but by the end of the chapter, he has turned his worry into worship and praises his Creator once again.

The next time your heart is troubled, check your vision. Focus on God and on His unchanging character. Trust in who He is and the promises He provides in scripture, rather than what is going on around you.

*Adapted by permission from Faith Deployed…Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2011).

Jocelyn Green, the wife of a former Coast Guard officer, is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and editor. Along with contributing writers, she is the author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2008), and Faith Deployed . . . Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2011). She is also co-author of Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq/Afghanistan (AMG Publishers 2009). She is the chief editor for www.WivesinBloom.com, the online magazine of Christian Military Wives (a branch of Christian Military Fellowship) and a contributor to the website www.StartMarriageRight.com. Jocelyn graduated from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, with a B.A. in English, concentration in writing. She is a frequent speaker at military wife events, women’s church groups, and writers conferences, and is an active member of the Evangelical Press Association, Christian Authors Network, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and the Military Writers Society of America.

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Conquering Resentment – Jocelyn Green
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“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4

Several Coast Guard wives, myself included, had crammed into an apartment living room for a book club meeting. As we chatted, the hostess unleashed a bitter monologue concerning her husband’s frequent absences at sea and punctuated it with a booming, “I did not sign up to be a single parent!” With one toddler and another baby due soon, this woman was clearly frazzled. Unfortunately, her resentment over having to be solo spilled out of her like a toxin.

Heroes at Home author, Ellie Kay, points out that resentment takes root when the focus is on our own unfulfilled desires and expectations, on why life isn’t the way we want it to be right now. Our book club hostess, like most of us, desired for her husband to be a present father. Many spouses struggle with not being able to pursue professional ambitions due to the transitory lifestyle of the military. And who doesn’t wish we could spend more time with our families or friends we’ve left scattered all over the country?

In Lies Women Believe, Nancy Leigh DeMoss points out that no matter who we are, we will always have unfilled longings this side of heaven (Romans 8:23). “We must learn to accept those longings, surrender them to God, and look to Him to meet the deepest needs of our hearts,” she writes.

Naomi and Ruth, both widowed and childless, certainly had unfulfilled longings when they returned to Bethlehem empty-handed. But instead of wallowing in their tragedy, Ruth rolled up her sleeves and went to work—hard work—gleaning in the fields under the hot sun so she could provide for herself and her mother-in-law.

When resentment threatens to infect our hearts, we should take a cue from Ruth and step outside ourselves to serve others. “If our situation won’t change, we must,” says Kay. “The best way for a wife/husband to stop resenting their spouse’s military service is for them to get out there and invest in the lives of other people. Soon you’ll find that the very needs that had built resentment in your heart will turn around as you see God invited into the equation.”

Jocelyn Green is an award-winning freelance writer and author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (www.faithdeployed.com), from which this devotional was adapted. She and her husband Rob live with their two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN-10: 0802452507
ISBN-13: 978-0802452504

One Minute Meditations for the culturally challenged and spiritually stuck. Daily devotions from the perspective of one man and one woman, delivered online and by email that inspire you to move beyond the “busy-ness” of life into an intimate relationship with God through an interactive friendship with the Father. Christian Devotions takes Christ from the heavens and places him in your heart.

Choosing Hope – Jocelyn Green
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“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

What is it you hope for? Perhaps it is the safety of your husband or wife, or for an easy transition after deployment, or for a certain assignment. Or, could it be that you have been walking in difficulty for so long you are finding it difficult to hope at all? If you find your faith giving way to doubt, you are not alone.

The theme of hope runs throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Hebrews 11 honors heroes of the faith for righteousness even when they could not see the end result. Verse 11 says, “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.”

If you remember the story, you will recall that Sarah had such a hard time allowing herself to hope God would keep his promise of giving her a son that she gave her handmaiden Hagar to Abraham to have a son through her. She took the matter into her own hands before the Lord’s plan came to fruition. And yet, after years of waiting, God still kept his promise and allowed her to give birth to Isaac, who would be the father of countless generations.

In our darkest hours, what we believe about God is the only thing that can sustain us. Our hope should be placed in God’s character, not in our outward circumstances. When we have no answers to the “Why” questions, it is our answer to “Who” – our knowledge of God and assurance that He is good and sovereign – that keeps us going.

“In all of my trials, it has become quite clear that I have a choice,” says Army Chaplain wife, Rebekah Benimoff. “I could take all my pain and grief and unanswered questions and truthfully, honestly submit them to El-Shaddai, ‘The God Who is Sufficient for His People,’ or I could choose to turn away from Him and become resentful. I could choose Hope – or I could choose to walk away from hope. How could I choose hopelessness, when there is such HOPE to be found? I choose hope despite what I cannot understand. I choose to believe that God is who He says He is, despite what my circumstances are.”

There is hope in husbands and wives, hope in children, hope in families and hope in the future, when we look toward Christ.

Jocelyn Green is an award-winning freelance writer and author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (www.faithdeployed.com), from which this devotional was adapted. She and her husband Rob live with their two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN-10: 0802452507
ISBN-13: 978-0802452504

One Minute Meditations for the culturally challenged and spiritually stuck. Daily devotions from the perspective of one man and one woman, delivered online and by email that inspire you to move beyond the “busy-ness” of life into an intimate relationship with God through an interactive friendship with the Father. Christian Devotions takes Christ from the heavens and places him in your heart.

Affairs of the Heart – Protecting Family – Jocelyn Green
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“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23

A woman in our Coast Guard unit had been corresponding with her old boyfriend for months. Unbeknownst to her husband, she was emailing and instant messaging late into the night. She was convinced she would be happier if she filed for divorce, hoped for the best for her children, and returned to the arms of the one she did not marry.

While the geographical distance prevented her from having a physical relationship with this man, she was clearly in an emotional affair. Perhaps she thought emailing couldn’t hurt anything. But the more she shared of her heart with the man, the more her desires bent toward being with him as a permanent solution to her loneliness and dissatisfaction in her marriage.

Each one of us is vulnerable to the same situation. Those of us who would “never have an affair” might just be feeling lonely enough to mention it to a sympathetic listener. If he (or she) offers us the attention we are craving, how can our hearts not want to go back for more? While not every emotional affair ends in a physical affair, you can bet that every physical affair once began as an emotional affair.

It’s inevitable that you will notice attractive men and women—and that isn’t sinful. It would be sinful if we allow that attraction to spur us on to develop an emotional attachment to that person. Here are some questions Shannon Ethridge suggests we ask ourselves to evaluate whether we, as married individuals, are in dangerous territory:

• Do you think of this man or woman often (several times each day) even though they are not around?
• Do you go out of your way to run into them?
• Do you wonder if they feel any attraction toward you?

One way to play it safe and help guard our hearts is to guard our mouths. Flirting, complimenting, complaining, confessing, and inappropriate counseling and praying are all ways of communicating that could lead to a deeper relationship—in other words, avoid them!

If you find yourself struggling to reserve your heart’s affections for your spouse, seek out a trusted friend to serve as an accountability partner to you. You are less likely to stumble if you know you’ll have to report it. “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”.

Jocelyn Green is an award-winning freelance writer and author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (www.faithdeployed.com), from which this devotional was adapted. She and her husband Rob live with their two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN-10: 0802452507
ISBN-13: 978-0802452504

One Minute Meditations for the culturally challenged and spiritually stuck. Daily devotions from the perspective of one man and one woman, delivered online and by email that inspire you to move beyond the “busy-ness” of life into an intimate relationship with God through an interactive friendship with the Father. Christian Devotions takes Christ from the heavens and places him in your heart.

Comparing Trials – Joceyln Green
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“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

Galatians 6:2 NASB

A woman in my Bible study was having a hard time dealing with the fact that her family had moved across the country. After years of living in the same small town of Homer, Alaska, this woman missed them terribly and was growing bitter about it.

As I listened to her share with broken voice and many tears, I’m ashamed to admit I had no compassion for her whatsoever. You call that bad? I thought. Try being a military wife! We hardly ever get to live near our extended families. We don’t even live with our own husbands half the time!

I carried my “I have it worse than you” attitude home with me that day. I snuggled up to it to make myself feel more virtuous or worthy somehow. But the tighter I held on to it, the less Christ was able to use me. I used my own trials as something to be proud of. What a ridiculous thing to boast about.

Proverbs 14:10 says, “The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger does not share its joy.” When I read that verse, it seems to tell me that each person’s burden causes him/her a pain that should not be diminished just because someone else has it worse. It is worthless to compare trials. A truly humble person will bear one another’s burdens no matter how they “rank” next to their own.

Paul does not say, “Bear one another’s burdens only if you deem them of sufficient magnitude. If it isn’t a big deal to you, go ahead and let your sister in Christ figure it out on her own. She’ll get over it.” We are to “Bear one another’s burdens”—period.

“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” Now, if anyone had the right to consider other people’s complaints as petty, Jesus did. Jesus knew he would die a horrific death on the cross to pay for the sins of the people who put him there—and yet he comforted and healed thousands of people with lesser trials. May we seek to model Jesus’ humility and compassion in our own lives.

Jocelyn Green is an award-winning freelance writer and author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (http://www.faithdeployed.com/), from which this devotional was adapted. She and her husband Rob live with their two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN-10: 0802452507
ISBN-13: 978-0802452504

One Minute Meditations for the culturally challenged and spiritually stuck. Daily devotions from the perspective of one man and one woman, delivered online and by email that inspire you to move beyond the “busy-ness” of life into an intimate relationship with God through an interactive friendship with the Father. Christian Devotions takes Christ from the heavens and places him in your heart.