At one particular discussion, I was sitting in my prayer chair outside as the afternoon sun shared its weakening late summer rays. Eva and I were in conflict as to how to handle a particular situation. I was close to tears and at my wit's end regarding what to do. “Why don't we ask God?” I said.

Eva said, “Okay.” My desire was to find out once and for all if we were to spank Kristina when she misbehaved or not. It was a major question and one that had strained our marriage more than once. First, however, I felt inclined to ask, “May we ask about this?” The answer was, “No.” I felt, at first, betrayed. Then, suddenly, in a shower of wisdom to my heart, God, through His Holy Spirit, said, “Check with me each time. I do not want you to handle all situations in the same manner.” As the wisdom poured through me from God, I shared it with Eva and we both began to cry, happily, with God's answer to us.

When we asked Him about spanking Kristina for this particular situation, He said No. A very short time later, Kristina came to us, submitted by the Holy Spirit, and repentant. Our daughter has learned through this, to be grateful when God says, "No" to the spanking and when He says, "Yes" she accepts that she deserves the spanking and acknowledges that she has had plenty of grace from God in the past. It has actually helped her to love God in a personal way and submit to discipline better.

Nature of God: When I asked Him if we could ask, He said, “No.” We felt as if He was dropping the ball, here, but, He's God. We knew He cared. Then, the wisdom of the Lord came through my heart as He told us gently to always come to Him with each situation. He did not want us to try to make Him give us some sort of “easy blanket answer” that would apply to all situations. What wonderful wisdom God gives us, when we relinquish our hold on things and really let Him know we trust Him and want to know His will! This particular time, God was going to bring submission to Kristina internally and it would not be necessary for us to spank her. But, we understood, that didn't mean we wouldn't have to spank her another time.

I believe too often, we live this life totally oblivious to the fact that God is real and that God has ways for us to do things, or handle things. If we believe that God is not a real and viable help, this will be the way we live our lives, constantly struggling with our decisions and judgments, never knowing which way is the right way to go—or even whether or not we should go. Life can be better than this, folks.

We must want to get past the sense that what the world shows us, is all there is. This is simply not true. How can I help you understand? Actually, only the Holy Spirit can reveal to you that this world is NOT all there is. How can I help you see? Actually, only the Holy Spirit can help you know that, beyond the deeply held belief that we walk alone in this world, lies a doorway to the Kingdom of God, within. Just on the other side of these dark and obstructing beliefs, there is a Door Handle, Jesus Christ. If you pull for Him, He'll pull for you. He'll bring you through. There is nothing the world can show us that can keep God's children trapped in the dark beliefs the world can't see beyond. This isn't a fantasy, this isn't “ostrich hiding his head in the sand” stuff. This is real. Step on out! Then step in. Meet your Father, in heaven and discover His will in everything.

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