by Gabrielle Wescoe | Nov 29, 2022 | Life Advice, Motherhood
Do you ever feel so tired or overwhelmed by whatever is set before you? I get it, we all go though those seasons of life when all we have to do just feels so impossible to get done. In the times when we feel like we can’t possibly get it all done there is good news, we don’t have too. His grace is sufficient for us even when we are burnt out. Because it is in our weakness, our shortcoming and flaws that His strength is made perfect and we are reminded just how much we need our savior.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength Is made perfect in weakness.”- 2 corinthians 12:9
Most mornings my days start before the sun rises and my nights don’t end until the wee hours of the next morning. Having three children, three and under is my biggest blessing but it sure does lead to lack of sleep and some questionable stains on many of my clothing items. Motherhood is such an amazing gift and it sanctifies me and shows me on a daily basis what it means to die to my flesh and rely on his strength when mine is spent.
My time really isn’t my own and these days revolve around taking care those within my arms reach, while juggling all the other responsibilities my husband and I share.
Last week was one of those weeks when it felt like an uphill battle.The kids were all sick. All three of them from my oldest son to my three month old baby. My husband is in the height of a busy season for one of the business’s we own and has been having to work really long hours. Deadlines for my podcast and work for my ministry were due. The kids needed me to hold them and comfort them, so the dishes piled up and the laundry baskets overflowed. I spent the days sitting and rocking my sick babies all morning and into the late hours of the night.
The days felt long and in some fleeting moments it felt as if I would never rest again.The second my eyes would shut someone would need me. It was in those moments of pure exhaustion when I couldn’t slow down, even for a moment I was pushed to rely on his strength to renew me and his grace to sustain me.
I couldn’t heal my babies and take the sickness away. I could tend to them, make all the home made remedies I could find and give them all the snuggles but still I don’t have the power to heal them. Only He does and only he can.
I could wash scrub every last dish in the sink, wipe down the counters till they shine, wash and fold the laundry but I couldn’t bring peace and grace into my home, only Jesus can change the atmosphere of a home to be peace filled. Only he can.
I could support my husband in his our business, crush all the deadlines I have for my work and yet still not be complete. Only he can satisfy and turn the work I do into good work that truly matters for His glory.
I am not sure what is causing you to feel burnt out, exhausted or is on your mile long to do list. It is my hope that through these words you are reminded to lay everything you have to do and that is weighing on you at His feet, trusting in full confidence he will carry you through with a peace this world does not understand. Whatever it is weighing on you please remember three key things:
- When you do it in your own strength it is empty with no kingdom value.
- His grace is sufficient for you even when you’re weary
- He will renewal your strength.
All throughout scripture we are shown how God is our faithful and our steadfast place of refuge. That he is near to us, working all things together for good and active in our lives. We see how he sticks closer than a friend and he renews our strength. One of my favorite verses is:
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.- Isaiah 40:31
The bible is not just a bunch of verses that sound nice but It the living word of God, it is truth to build our live upon. We can confidently know and trust that’s what written in scripture is true and what we can rely on. If we want to understand the will of God we must be reading the word of God. In reading the word of God we can see just how near to us he really is and how we are called to rely on him.
We are never promised an easy life, in fact we are told in this life we will have many troubles but to take heart, and we will have peace because he has overcome it (John 16:33). That peace and confidence trust is ours to hold fast to in all time. Even in the times when we are troubled. Troubled by what is before us and weary form lack of rest. When the task set before us seem like the impossible and that energy we need to muster up can not be found we can hold fast to him.
We can trust that the word of God stands true and that he will give us the grace and strength to renew us so that when we run the race he is calling us to we won’t grow faint and weary. We can cling to his truth and rely on him to be what gets us through.
No matter the task, no matter the day or responsibility that is put before us we can do the impossible with him alone for with Christ we can do all things (Philippians 4:13) . Just because what we have to do feels hard and heavy does not mean it is bad for whatever we do for the glory of God is good and a chance to serve him.
Each season you walk through that pushes you to your brink is what can push you to lean into him more and more. These days and moments of weakness is when his strength is made perfect and causing you to rely on him alone. Let him be where you run, let him be the energy that fills you and the place that renews you.
So friend, I hope you know and are able to remember in these day when you feel so exhausted, pushed beyond your limits and unsure how to keep going that his grace is washing over you, his strength is your renewal and that he is beside you comforting you in it all.
God’s got you friend, hold fast to him.
Gabrielle is a wife, mama of three under 3, podcast host, cancer survivor and writer. She loves spending her days with a warm cup of tea, caring for her children, and writing what God puts on her heart. She hosts The Inspiring Honey Show podcast and runs The Inspiring Honey ministry with the mission to equip and inspire women to live inspired by Gods truth alone.
by Gabrielle Wescoe | Aug 17, 2021 | Life Advice, Wisdom
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you had no idea how to deal with it. You searched your brain with solutions of how to solve it and found no good solution?
Here is some truth: God already won!
There are so many scriptures in the bible that point back to this comforting and empowering truth that God won. He won today, he wins tomorrow and he will be winning for eternity. The other night while I was studying scripture God brought me to psalms 46 and reminded me how near he is and how I do not need to fight my battles but need only to surrender them and trust that he has already won the battle. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you had no idea how to deal with it but you searched your brain with solutions of how to solve it. Maybe if you say this or act one way or maybe if this happens everything will be fixed? It’s so easy to default to that. To default to just thinking through a million situations and cyphering through to find one that seems like it might work.
It’s similar to if you got a really bad cut that you need a doctor to take care of it but instead of going to get stitches you just stick a band aid on top and hope it stops the bleeding. When in actuality the band-aid is only a temporary mend and you have to seek out a Dr. who can mend your wound, by first cleaning it and then stitch it up to stop the bleeding and watch over the progress as it heals. That’s how it is when we are in a situation that’s hard and instead of turning to God we just rely on ourselves and try to make sense of our own understanding. Only to realize it is not healing the wound and the cut just gets deeper and deeper and the pain just gets worse.
You see God is the best healer, the most comfort we could ever find is in Him alone. The best medicine is in God. The only one who can truly mend us is the lord. So, when we are hurting and broken and rely on ourselves it’s just going to lead to disaster and we will bleed out but if we turn to God and give it over to him he will mend the broken and heal our broken hearts.
One of the most assuring and empowering verses I have ever studied is psalms 46 where God tells us to stop fighting. To stop fighting because he already won and literally crushed shots that were attempted to be fired. When we give our hurts and pains over to God he tells us to stop fighting because he already won. That doesn’t mean our job is done but it just means the worry and weight of it is not ours to bear. You see our responsibility is how we act in a situation and what we do and how we honor God but not the situation itself because God is the one in control and if we try to find solutions in our self or our own wisdom, that’s when things go haywire and get a little crazy. Our responsibility after we stop fighting and start surrendering to God is to, respond how He calls us to and reflect Christ .
In Psalm 46, reading that very first line and knowing God is our refuge and our strength and a helper who is found in times of trouble is such a comforting thing …possible the most comforting thing. God is our refuge, our safe place that we can confidently run to and know that we will find his strength that will get us through and sustain us. We know that he is a helper who is found in times of trouble. When things seem rocky and hard it can feel like no one is there or able to help us overcome the situation, but this verse is literally telling us God is our helper when we are in trouble, he doesn’t run away but stays close beside us.
Reading this verse I just pictured myself in a battlefield, an intense fight, with full army gear, in the middle of a war zone. I picture this soldier version of in the middle of an active attack, needing to find a refuge to run and rest in so I look all over for a safe spot. As I start out running to find shelter my legs grow weary and tired from wearing all the gear and fighting. They can’t carry on because I need the strength to keep going. When you get to the refuge because they were supplied the strength to carry on they need help to heal a wound because they got hit with a bullet in the midst of the battle field.
God is the shelter you run to, he is there with open arms guiding you to him and in his presence, God is your strength that keeps you going when you can’t carry on he has and will fill you with His spirit to give you his strength to rely on and he is a helper to help heal and mend the most painful parts of whatever you just walked through. God is so good, he is so faithful.
Psalms 46 goes on to tell us that we do not have to be afraid of anything on this earth because in the city of God a river waits in the holy dwelling place. The earth is going to have pains, the earth is going to fall. The earth is going to have disasters. In the midst of it all, God is saying hey guys, DO NOT HAVE FEAR. Do not be afraid when the earth around you trembles because you have heaven to look forward to, you have peaceful rivers that will not rage and will not topple to look forward to. So do not be scared by the trembling of this world but pray about being filled with excitement and hope in Christ. In verse 7 of Psalms 46 we are told the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
God is our place that is fortified and can not go under attack. Nothing is going to get to him or surprise him or hurt him. God is in control and he is bullet proof, he is our refuge that can’t come under attack. Nothing can come at him. The enemy can’t and won’t. The enemy has already lost to him. Demons literally flee at the name of Jesus and shutter, demons are so scared of the power of God they flee at the mention of the name of Jesus.
God is a fortified fortress for us to run to, he is safe and impenetrable.
In vs 10 we are told to stop fighting. To stop fighting because God is exalted among all nations. We need to humble ourselves and know that no battle can be successfully faced without him. We can go to battle without him, relying on our own strength but if we aren’t for God and living for him, honoring his will we are destined to lose.
If we can run to God first and just stop fighting and start surrendering and following his commandments that’s what he truly hopes for us. Sometimes we can get so confused by how God wants us to live, the answer is written in the holy word of God, the Bible. This is a question we get so hung up on. We try to seek the answer in so many ways. We seek others opinions, we google it, we watch sermons but the truth is how God wants us to live is so clearly written out in the bible. In Colossians 3 verse 12-17 we are told to clothe ourselves compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. We are told to live in harmony and forgive and we are told to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts to be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. And whatever we do, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God. We are told to clothe ourselves with compassion.
I hope that today you have peace and hope in knowing that God already won. The battle is not ours to fight but, carrying out the calling of how Christ calls us is our responsibility if we want to live for Jesus. Be encouraged that the truth is found in Gods holy word, that nothing is unseen or unknown to him. Be encouraged to go forward with the Hope of Christ.
Follow Gabrielle on Instagram @inspiringhoney
by Gabrielle Wescoe | Apr 8, 2021 | Life Advice, Testimonies
Hey there!
My name is Gabrielle Wescoe. Most people call me Gab! I am married to my best friend and have two beautiful boys that are 2 and 5 months old. I am a cancer survivor, and am a Holistic nutritionist. I live in a small town in PA. My favorite things are laughing, the color yellow, and anything that has cute bees or sunflowers! I am known on instagram as Inspiring Honey. Ever since I was a little girl people have turned to me for inspiration and said I have so much joy. I laugh 90% of the time and can be pretty loud when I talk.
Without a doubt my life is filled with abundance of love, grace, and blessing. But I have also experienced a lot of pain and trials.
I do not know what you are going through or what you have gone through but I want to tell you this, God is working in your life. He is taking the pain and hurt you have had and will use it for his glory. He is a God of restoration and he is in the business of renewal.
I want to share how God has restored in me so that you can be challenged to look at what he has restored and is restoring in your life.
My story really began after I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 10. I remember the day I was diagnosed so vividly. They didn’t know if I was going to live or have children. But God gave the verse Luke 8:50 to my family and we clung to it. Here I am today, 23 with two beautiful children and extremely healthy. Cancer put me through extreme physical pain for over two and a half years, but I have also walked through deep emotional pain. From losing friends and family to being bullied and getting in car accidents, family problems and getting pregnant before I was married, I have walked through situations that seemed hopeless. I have never doubted God’s plan but I have questioned my own ability to endure more.
On the outside I have always been able to come across happy and joyful, that’s just part of my bubbly personality. I always smile and laugh and enjoy life but I have scars not only physical but ones that are hidden on my heart. My husband and I joke that I am like an onion with a million layers and can easily be caused to cry!
Throughout everything I have seen and endured God has just been so loving to show me grace, redemption and forgiveness. God has used so many people to point me back to him and show me what it looks like to live fully for Christ. In my 23 years of life many have said that I am wise beyond my years and that is a combination of the trials I faced and what God has done in my heart but I know that wisdom does not come for me but true wisdom only comes from the Lord (Proverbs 2:6-8)
Throughout the bible we see so much redeemed by God and ultimately through Jesus on the cross. In our own life it can be challenging to see God working, but when we step back we realize how much he does everyday for us and how involved he is. Everything he does that moves us closer to him simply points us back to the cross. I have seen God restore the most broken and painful things. I have seen how God takes my pain and uses it for his purpose, he turns ashes into beauty.
I want to take time to tell you the lesson I learned and inspire to know:
No matter how painful of a situation or how hopeless you think it is, God has a plan and he will use it.
One of my favorite books in the bible is Esther. If you aren’t familiar with the story of Esther, it is a story of how God uses a Jewish woman and her uncle to protect the jewish people from an evil man who wanted to murder them. The main theme teaches us that God is always working even when we don’t see it or understand his plan. Throughout the story we are shown that God uses people for his purpose and even when we see no solution, he has a plan. Esther felt fear and did not know what God was going to do but she faced the situation, with bold faith and trusted he was working. She was obedient and bold in her faith. Instead of wallowing and moping in fear she boldly went in prayer and then action. Instead of letting her mountains stop her, she let God move her mountains.
I pray to become more like Esther when I face fear, to be obedient and bold and trusting of God’s plans. In this life we are promised there will be sadness and pain, but what a blessing it is to know we do not face it alone. It is not by our strength we are able to overcome, but by His alone. Whatever you are walking through, I challenge you to step out in faith, lay it at his feet, and trust his plans.
I don’t know what you have walked through or what you are going through, but I know there is purpose in it. I know that the pain you feel can be used for the glory of God. I know that no matter what you are going through you can give it to Jesus and trust him to restore. How have you seen God bring redemption and restoration in your life?
Follow Gabrielle on Instagram @inspiringhoney
