WITH THE ASKING:

From the Flesh to the Spirit

• Romans12:2 "Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of the mind, that you may prove what is that good and perfect and acceptable will of God."

• God is in the business of cleansing, redeeming and refreshing human beings...and "His compassions, they fail not." I have tested this…and found it to be true.

• From the mud pit to the slough of despond, to the caves, to the deserts, to the peaks, to the valleys, the Father and His Son take us in any condition, from where we are, to the gifts He gave us, and how to use them.

• Knocking and seeking and asking with persistence is key and being as relentless as Papa is, in pursuit of wisdom and knowledge. This is what is called "seek, ask, knock."

• Yes, I absolutely know how difficult the material realm is: pressures, demands on all sides. That is why we need the mercy of God to guide us through and into Eternity with Him! Our material self, our "flesh" is resistant and needs help to change from dark into light. Mine certainly does, all day, every day.

• God constantly tells me "Ask of Me". I still do not fully comprehend this exhortation! I still have a nightly conversation with God, what I call "flopping on the couch with Papa", in which I talk with Him about what is on my heart and soul and then listen for His counsel and guidance. He knew I had written a difficult piece last week for my weekly Substack writing, sharing my struggle with clutter. While I got the counsel to simply begin to follow Holy Spirit's suggestions in the small five minute increments of assignments in my home, I was uncertain how this would work "in reality." He told me "The more you simply put your foot into Holy Spirit's footsteps day by simple day, the more consistency will build and within a handful of months, small miracles will be happening. The childlike trust and the steps you take in the five minute daily doings will (not only) begin to lift your dear home out of sorrowful-stuck, and into refreshed and renewed."

• My recent writing post on my ongoing struggle with clutter and visual disorder was informative to my own spirit. I also felt I needed to understand more deeply why I have struggled so long with this problem, feeling swamped and defeated repeatedly, even after trying so often to get into order, living in so much despair and a low-beam life for so many years. I don't live in utter chaos but I do live in disorder.

• As I continue the tiny daily hops with Holy Spirit, He leads me like I was small and just learning structural things. He leads me to the slow and steady steps that will lead to an exit from this pit of sorrow I have lived in for so long. Doing this, my natural researcher got stirred up to reasonably ask, " why have I struggled so hard over disorder? What are the roots of it? "

• Once I began to think and pray, Holy Spirit sent clues. I am sharing them, as perhaps others might experience the same. Clue number one was that the spirit of condemnation is a major part of this and also something I am certain so many souls struggle with. The intellect alone cannot conquer this. God has to intervene.

• One other core item that popped up immediately was "self worth and self image." While I no longer so deeply dislike myself, I still dont have a strong sense of self worth. Crumbling under the huge pressure of money demands, that spirit of "overwhelm" has tailed me all my life. So many of us empath types just live a life in the semi-light, the shadows. We have bits of light...but not huge spotlights. We pitch a tent on the edge of the light, fearing we will be flattened in the blazing sun. Not midnight but certainly not high noon!

• Lack of self-worth drains my sense of purpose and defense structure, which in turn, hampers my ability to see clearly and more fully recognize the gifts God gave me and more fully utilize them. I feel I need God's permission to blossom under His care. My phrase of prayer is "more than enough to spare and to share."

• I don't want stuff...externals mean little to me as those are just more to haul around. This is like a dear friend once told me, when I was dreaming of mansions to live in..."you don't keep your studio apartment neat! How will you care for a mansion?" Well...ouch...but well...true.

• Traveling light is my preference. Stuff takes time and takes room.

  As I slowly and steadily learn directly from the Holy Spirit of God Himself, the veil gets jarred loose.

• This is not metaphysics or otherworldly stuff, this is fully grounded in the Eternal truths of how God works, even in flawed human beings. I mean, who else can He work with and through?? That is the majesty of God, as He extends His mercy, especially when we are struggling.

• God repeatedly tells me, " Ask of Me." While He does not always specify what to ask Him, I am certain He does not mean being selfish or focused only on myself. Seeing my own core needs fully met and not the constant scramble for funds, I can then relax more deeply and see the Hand of God at work and offer help to others.

• In the laboratory of my own modest life, I see God's wisdom displayed through common sense, not just the esoteric. I can see the need for the tiny steps I am taking in the five-minute tasks Holy Spirit gives me to do, one per day. This small and seemingly ridiculous assignment has actually already provided a foundational landing strip for my soul. I am already seeing a corner of the floor clean, a corner of a kitchen counter scrubbed and visually improved, a small pile of things removed and placed in a drawer. This is God's power through the small. I have to tell you, as one of the small, this is…IMMENSE.

• I did not have children because I knew I did not have the physical or emotional strength to do so. I have only had myself to handle all these years, and while I do have value to God, I have not contributed as a Mother. In the amazing manner God works, He is using my struggles to lend emotional and prayer support to others who might have the same dilemmas. It is in the still, small voice of Holy Spirit, I am finding a huge haven and refuge that then translates into great and wonderful things I can then share with and help others.

• I know from living over seven decades that life does not proceed in a neat and tidy manner, it remains quite messy along the years. Plans made do not always pan out, people do not always cooperate (including self) and the world roams by without always listening to us or our desires or needs. It is not like a perfect direct line from birth to old age and departure. Things happen that sometimes we created in our despair, things can happen that we do not expect or want, things happen in random occurance that throw off our well-made plans. Yes, a map is needed...even it a tattered one. We are not simply little kids, getting through elementary and middle and high school and college, and then finding the woman or man of our dreams, to marry, raise a family, be secure in older age. Nope. More road blocks, more opposition, more mental, emotional, physical impediments derail our best designs and desires. We most definitely need HELP! (one of my favorite words...)

• If you, as you are reading this, are feeling stuck in areas of your life, reach for God in your spirit and simply ask for help. Listen as deeply as you can and write down what you hear God say. Find a good church and seek counsel from a Pastor and ask also for prayer! Step by step, you can stabilize and make life make some sense.

• Finally, in closing this piece, I asked permission from a fellow Substacker, Jeanie Hoskin “@restoration center”, to share a text she received from one of her clients, a gentleman she was working with, helping him through some very difficult issues. He said this, which captures perfectly what the power of God does for each of us, even in our dismay or despair and how tenderly and gently He works:

• “You saw the rebuilding of ancient ruins. You saw new foundations and rebuilt walls.

  My ruins were valued. Not cast off. They were washed in the blood. Cleansed. Made new, not replaced. Their stories very much a part of spring that never fails and the well-watered garden.

  You have always been “all-in”. You have always seen me. Heard me. Loved me.

  You could see me then, now, and in the days to come.”

This is absolutely how Papa God and His Son work through each and every one of us flawed and messy humans, gently, tenderly and relentlessly, to honor our humanity, our “ancient ruins” as valued. When I read this the first time, I wept all the way through is, as this is WHO God is and how He works through our humble hands and hearts. Great blessings to both Jeanie Hoskin for so graciously allowing me to share her clients heartfelt words and to her client, for his raw and ragged heart being renewed by the Great Physician, Whom we all desperately NEED, myself at top of the list. My own raw and ragged heart is being renewed as well.

• Wendy Elizabeth Williams, Friday, August 29, 2025

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  --Finally, please pray for me that I clearly hear the still, small voice of Holy Spirit guiding my writing. Thank you! Wendy