Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] When the world is closing in on me and it gets so heavy.
[00:00:09] Hey there. Welcome to Grace and Grit podcast, and I'm your host, Shanna Williams. So what is this all about?
[00:00:19] Grace and Grit is a faith filled journey designed to empower you with spiritual strength and resilience. Each episode we're going to delve into biblical topics, offering insights and teachings to help you overcome life's mental and emotional challenges. We're going to use scripture. I'm going to tell you stories. It's going to be a blast. I can't wait to see you today.
[00:00:48] Well, hello there. Welcome back. I'm so glad that you decided to come back. Yay. I'm super, super excited to jump in today and talk a little bit about something that really is the sweetest thing ever and what happened to me this week. And I think my goal here is always to get us to get our mindset where it needs to be in our perspective, to be shifted away from the things that we're going through that seem so hard unto Christ, onto God, onto the Holy Spirit and the work of the Trinity, the things they might be doing in our lives. And so I had this really cool thing happen this week that I want to share with you guys, and I hope that it blesses you. And then I want to dive into a little bit of Matthew, chapter 13 and hopefully pull some truths from that that might encourage you this week. So this episode I'm going to be talking about little love notes. Little love notes that God leaves us and how amazing it is and how we really need to grab a hold of this and understand that God is always, always speaking to us in ways that maybe we didn't think he would speak to us. Or we're thinking it's always going to be one way, but he's always leaving us these little precious love notes. And how this came about was this past week.
[00:02:29] My husband and I, we just started praying together in the mornings, and it's just been amazing. Well, he started leaving me these sweet little notes, and he would pull out, like our devotional that we read together when he's home.
[00:02:43] He had to go to work that day, so he pulled the devotional out for me and put it on the right page, and then he wrote a note about it. And then he circled the prayer at the bottom and it was just so sweet. And then I came into my office and I found a note that said, I took a sharpie. I love you.
[00:03:01] And so you know what? I know that sounds so trivial or small or not even like, a big deal. But I. There was just something about it that every time I found one of these notes, I was just so excited, and it really lifted my spirits, and it made me feel special. It made me feel loved. It made me feel thought about, and it just. It really changed my whole week. And I began to realize how big of a deal these little love notes are and how God writes them for us all the time, and we don't even realize it.
[00:03:38] So we get so steeped and trapped in, you know, paying attention to the challenges that we face, the disastrous, difficult circumstances we always find ourselves in, or we're just plain lazy, right? Sometimes we go through seasons where we're just like, I am so tired, and I just don't care. I just want to take a nap. You know what I mean?
[00:04:01] Spiritually speaking. And so when we do that, you know, we miss these sweet little love notes that God is leaving us. And so I just want to open your eyes and bring some awareness to that and how amazing it is. But there's just. So. There's just something so beautiful about a handwritten note.
[00:04:21] It's that personal touch that, you know, brings it to such a new level. And so, like I said, I was thinking about all the times that God's leaving me, things that I am not noticing, right? So as I began to reminisce about that, like, how many times has he left me a love note? And I didn't realize that it was him. I just thought it was something else. And I remember one time going through something so, so challenging financially, which seems to be kind of an ongoing theme in my life, are financial woes. And, you know, the enemy trying to take me down always through finances.
[00:04:58] So just remember struggling and praying and just saying, lord, I literally don't know how we're going to make it. I need a miracle. And I was just crying out, and I looked out of the window. I was in my office, and I looked out the window, and there was a sparrow, and it's just sitting out there. I think there was a chair out there, and it was kind of sitting perched on top of it, hopping around. And I've been thinking, you know, I'm thinking when I see this, the Lord is like, remember, remember, I take care of even the sparrows. And that was his little love note to me that day.
[00:05:33] Another example I have for you actually happened this morning.
[00:05:38] We have been really opening our house up more in terms of, lord, we want you here. We invite you in. Me and my husband have been praying every morning. Together. And it's just shifting the atmosphere of our home, which is probably a whole other episode that I want to release in the next few weeks about how to shift the atmosphere in your home. However, we have just been noticing things changing. And this morning, we were talking about Galatians, chapter five, I believe in the fruit of the spirit, and we were specifically focusing in on goodness, and we were talking about faithfulness, those two things and what they mean in the Greek. And it was just phenomenal. We had such a great time this morning, just. Just God opening our eyes, you know, really to what these small little things mean and how it's a precious jewel that when we see it, we're like, wow, I didn't know that, you know, well, he left, and I was getting ready, and I just randomly turned on my iTunes app, and, you know, it will go into, like, if you have it set to, like, to play a playlist, but then your playlist is over, and so it'll just start randomly pulling in similar songs. Right. So it pulled in a song that I think I've heard it somewhere, but honestly, I haven't heard enough times to really know what it was. But finally, I just started listening to it, and I. Oh, gosh, I just sensed the Holy Spirit so strongly in this song, and I was like, this is exactly, exactly what I needed to hear today. And it was like a love note that God just plopped down or left for me somewhere, and I found it, and it just. It was like, it brought me so much joy, you know, that's. That's the only way I know how to say it is. Looking for these treasures will bring you so much joy.
[00:07:30] When you start learning how to pay attention, that's really what it is, is slowing down enough to pay attention that to know and coming from a place of gratitude, even, like, I think gratitude is what opens the door to this. If you. If you constantly stay in a place of gratitude, you will find that God begins to reveal even more and more and more to you. And I'm going to read about that in Matthew, chapter 13 in just a second. But I want to say this, and this is something I have started doing every day for the last few weeks. When I wake up, I come to my office and I get my computer going and all that, I make a list, and it's different areas, but the very first area I address is gratitude. And I list five things that I'm grateful for. And it could just be like, I'm grateful for that really pretty tree in my yard. I love the way it looks and it makes me happy when I look at it. One time I wrote down, I'm thankful for my sheets. They are so comfortable and I love them and they stay on the bed. They're those kind that have the really big pockets. So when you flip and roll around like I do a lot, it doesn't come off the bed. Right. I know that seems so trivial and small and even ridiculous, you know? I mean, sometimes I've put things like I'm thankful for.
[00:08:54] Let me see. I mean, yeah, the big things, of course, your house, your car, your spouse, your kids, all that, of course. But even little tiny things like I'm thankful for, you know, from my front porch swing. I love it. I love the way it looks. I love sitting in it. And I'm just so grateful that I get to experience it. I mean, like right now I'm looking outside and I'm thankful for my front porch. I have a swing on it and there's this really, really pretty pond right across the street from me. And I'm thankful for that because that just, it's beautiful to look at and it just puts me in another place and it reminds me that God created all of this for me and you to enjoy. Right. And so what does gratitude does something for us and in us that I don't know if anything else can do. And what it does is it brings you into the present, the here and now, right? So yes, you're releasing this gratitude to God and you're thanking him for these things, but it also brings you back into the present moment where you're actually paying attention to everything that's around you. Because we get so caught up in overwhelming circumstances. Like if you are like most people right now in America, we are all in a financial crunch. The economy is not great. We're basically in a recession. I mean, they aren't really saying that, but we're basically in a recession. So times are hard. People are having to work two and three jobs and, you know, you can get really caught up in complaining and grabbing about that.
[00:10:28] And it can really take you to a place where you're not present in the moment, in the here and now when you're not grateful for anything that God might be doing. And that kind of reminds me of like the Israelites when God is taking them to, he's trying to move them out of Egypt into their promised land and, you know, he's providing manna for them and eventually quail because they complain so much and it gets, you know, they get water from the rock, which is prophetic, and it's about Jesus, but they still complain the entire time and they're not thankful. But yes, they're in this uncomfortable position, but they're never grateful. They never become present in that moment. They never just go, thank you for the pillar and the cloud that are guiding us. Thank you for your presence that goes before us. Thank you for protecting. They don't ever thank him for the man or the. They don't. They just complain. And it really, really brings their spirit down. But I'm going to tell you another thing that it does, this lack of being grateful. It is a doorway to allow the enemy into your thought life and to start to. You're partnering with the demonic when you walk, and that's very strong language, but I think we all need to be reminded that living in an ungrateful place will partner you with the demonic and it will invite those kinds of oppressive spirits into your life. Right.
[00:11:56] That's not even where I meant to go today, but it just kind of came out. So I'm just going to say, hey, that must have been the Lord. But this, this is how I start my day, is the gratitude. So I'm just going to say, hey, try this. Try every day, starting your day, writing down five things you're grateful for. And they can be five huge things, or they can be just like, hey, I'm grateful for that cupcake I ate yesterday that my mom made was so good, or I'm thankful that I have food to cook right now. I'm thankful that I can pay my bills. I don't always have more than I need, but I have what I need. Right? So I'm going to bring you into the present because that leads me into Matthew 13 that I want to read a little bit to you now. This is. Matthew 13 is a fantastic chapter because Jesus starts talking, he starts doing parables. He starts telling them parables to release spiritual truths, but they're veiled to unbelievers, right? And so he tells them the story of the farmer and the seed. And so I'm really not going to go through the parable because that's not really my point that I'm trying to make, but I am hoping in the next few episodes, I'm gonna. I think I'm gonna start picking a parable each week and talking about that parable and how we can really get some truths out of that to keep us going to have some grit here, you know, because this is called grace and grit, right? So he tells the story, the parable of the seed, that. The sower and the seed.
[00:13:33] And so he tells it, and the disciples come up to him, as usual, and ask kind of dumb questions that I'm sure we would all do, too. And they said. Then his disciples approached him and said, why do you always speak to people in these hard to understand parables? And I'm reading from the message translation, by the way. I'm sorry, not the message, the passion translation.
[00:13:56] And he explained, you've been given the intimate experience of insight into the hidden mysteries of the realm of heaven's kingdom. But they have not.
[00:14:07] For everyone who listens with an open heart will receive progressively more revelation until he has more than enough. But those who don't listen with an open, teachable heart, even the understanding that they think they have, will be taken from them. That's why I teach the people using parables, because they think they're looking for truth yet, because their hearts are unteachable, they never discover it, although they will listen to me, they never fully perceive the message I speak.
[00:14:39] And so. And then he goes into. Kind of goes into quoting Isaiah, you know? And so this is fantastic, because I love this, because this really brings into perspective that God reveals more to people who have an open heart towards him.
[00:15:03] And the more that your heart is open, and I want you to think about this for a minute, because even though we don't see the word gratitude, an open heart is someone who is grateful for what they already have been given by someone else. And they have. They recognize the value in the giver and what they've given, and so they have an open heart towards. Towards whatever that person wants to say or do. And so you can never even approach God without gratitude. Right. I mean, that's. That's, like, foundational. We have to be thankful. We have to come to him as. As people who are so grateful and thankful, and as we do that, he's going to reveal more and more and more. And so I. I'm, you know, kind of bringing a correlation here between.
[00:15:48] If you're saying I don't see these love notes that you were talking about, because that's what I was talking about earlier. Right. Well, you'll see these love notes more and more and more progressively as you walk in a place of open heartedness toward the Lord, to even look for these things and to realize he's going to actually, he wants to do these things for you. He wants to reveal truths to you. He wants to walk with you. He wants to do all those things right?
[00:16:18] And as you open your heart and you are walking in a place of gratitude, you're going to see more and more and more of it. What an amazing way to live, right? An amazing way to live every single day, knowing that you are going to find love letters that God leaves you. Whether that be that you crack your bible open and you see it. You actually see his love letter to you, and that is what he's saying to you. Whether it be you have a coffee with a friend and they just have these amazing words that you know are from the Lord. Whether it be a sermon that you found on YouTube, whether it be a song that just popped up like mine did, it could be. It could be anything. It could be a butterfly that flies by at just the right time. You know what I'm saying? Let's be open hearted so that we will even more things will be revealed to us, right? Let's keep our hearts open. I think that that is one of the most challenging things that we go through in life. As you become older, here are your options. You either become even more open hearted and tender towards the Lord, or you start to close your heart off. Because of the things you've been through, because of the pain, because of the disappointments, because of all the hurts and traumas that you've been through. You have a choice. Your choices. I'm going to continue to trust and lean into him because I know he's good, even though I don't understand this situation, even though it's hard. And I'm going to be grateful, and I'm going to find reasons every day to be grateful because I know when I do that, he's going to reveal and show me even more things. And I want to. I'm a very curious person. I don't know if you guys are, but I am super curious. I'm like Alice in Wonderland. I mean, like, I am always like, well, what's that and what's it for and why is it there? I want to understand how that works. So being that kind of curious person all the time, you have the option of being that way, or you have the option of being closed off and miserable and probably isolated and alone, because that's exactly where the enemy wants you to be, right? He wants you to be alone. He wants you to be isolated. He wants you to just feel, like, disappointed and hopeless and that the best parts of your life are over. That's what he wants you to believe. But those are lies. And you know there are lies, but you can get so steeped in pain and trauma and tragedy of things you've been through that you do not believe anymore that God will bless you or is with you or is for you. I mean, it. It is. It can be really hard when you go through something painful and you have to walk out the grief. Maybe you get a divorce. Maybe someone you love dies. Maybe. Maybe your child walked away from God. Maybe you lost a baby. You know, I don't know, but I can. I can tell you that those kinds of pains can cause you to close your heart off to God. But Jesus says here, you know, if you.
[00:19:28] He said, those who have a teachable open.
[00:19:34] Those who listen with an open heart will receive progressively more revelation until he has more than enough. And I love that because that is like painting a picture of. You've got so much revelation because you walk around. You walk around with an open heart that you've got so much. That you have more than enough. So what does that mean? That means I have an overflow, and that means I can share it with other people. That is fruitful, and that brings God glory. And I know that if you're a believer and you really love the Lord, that's your heart, that's your prayer, is you want to be a person who brings glory and honor to God. Well, what if it's just because you walk around with this grateful attitude and you have an open heart, and because of it, God keeps showing you more and more and more, and you're just like, oh, my gosh, it never ends. Like, this is what is so amazing about the Lord that my small little pee brain has discovered over the past three or four years, is the Lord is like diamond. And every time you turn it, you see a different part of it. You see something else that you've never seen before, and it's. It's a diamond that you can never see all the sides to it.
[00:20:54] That's how he is. He's so multifaceted that we. There's no number. It's infinite, and we think that we know everything. If you've been a believer for a while. I have. I feel like my whole life I've been a Christian. But you can get really, you know, religious in that. You think? Oh, well, I think I know. I mean, I've read the Bible five times through. I'm just giving examples. You know, I've been. I've been going to church all my life. I've walked with God. I know, but I'm telling you, you're never going to know it. All we're going to spend eternity as believers, learning all about him. That's how amazing he is. And multifaceted he is. So what does that mean in this life? That means in this life, if I keep coming back to him and he's leaving me these love notes to remind me that he cares and he wants to show me things, right? It's like a parable, almost, you know? It's like the world doesn't understand how this works. But we know him, and we've walked with him, and we understand. So these parables are not veiled to us. These little love notes, they're not veiled to us. We understand them. And he wants to progressively reveal himself more and more and more to us. I think that's amazing, and that's an amazing way to live. It's like an adventure that never ends. Every day can be an adventure.
[00:22:14] And when you start to live like that, you start to look around because you have so much overflow. You start to look around, and you're like, who can I give this to? Who needs to know or see, see more about him? Because he's given me this revelation, and I want to share it, and I want people to have the same revelation. It's not that I want to always be teaching people. I want them to have their own revelations, right? But it's this excitement, and it's this. It's almost evangelistic in nature, because people see how excited you are about it. They see how happy and joyful you are. And it's literally because you walk around with this grateful heart, and you have an open, teachable heart towards the lord, and so he just keeps showing you stuff, man. That's it. We don't have to beg him to show us things if we just are like, hey, it's me again. I love you so much, and I'm so thankful, and I can't believe that I get to know you like this. And I just want to tell you thank you. You don't even have to ask him to show you things. He just does it. He just does it because he's like, oh, here's something else you didn't know about me. Here's a little nugget for you. And you're like, oh, my gosh. Whoo. Is amazing, y'all. And I'm so excited about that kind of life. That is the life a believer is supposed to and was meant to live. That's what we created for. We were created for fellowship. Fellowship with the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And I hope that this little message blessed you today and stirred your heart. To want to look for those love notes, to want to walk in a place of gratitude, to want to have an open heart towards him, that's my goal, is just to, you know, I want everyone to experience what I've experienced with him, and I want us all to grow closer to him.
[00:24:08] And so I hope this blesses you. I always want to just say, please make sure you subscribe to my podcast. Wherever you're listening to this, you should be able to subscribe. I'm pretty much on every digital platform out there. And if you are, so if you could be so kind as to leave me a review that definitely helps me with my ratings and gets me more exposure so people can see. And please feel free to share this episode. Also, you can go to shannastrange.net. that's s h a n a s t r a dash dash dash e.net. and you can find all kinds of resources. I actually have a blog that I wrote a really short, quick blog about this, about this very topic that I shared with you today. And you can share that with friends and family, whoever might need it. And I think that is it. This is Shana Strange Williams, and I will see you guys next week. Be blessed.
[00:25:12] Home.
[00:25:16] And home to the place I know it.
