Category: <span>thoughts by Katy Huth Jones</span>

A Servant’s Heart
Published October 18, 2019

A Servant’s Heart

“Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” Mark 1:30-31

An elderly Christian I once knew had multiple health problems, the worst being his heart, which caused him pain and shortness of breath. As a young man, he’d been a country preacher, and for several years he was the chaplain at a tuberculosis sanatorium. He loved to talk about the “olden days,” and I loved to hear his stories!

Though Brother Neal lived with constant suffering in his final years, he never complained. He kept looking for ways to serve and encourage others, both large ways and small. He did more than always greet everyone with a friendly smile; when it came time to move into assisted living, he found a struggling young couple who needed a place to live and sold them his small house below market value, carrying the note for them.

Neal went home to be with the Lord several years ago, but his example of a servant’s heart still encourages and inspires me today, especially in my health struggles. Simon Peter’s mother is another example that reminds me I can be of use to God’s Kingdom no matter what my physical state is.

When we’re sidelined by illness or other trials of life, we shouldn’t allow it to keep us from serving God and one another in every possible way. Even if it’s just the encouragement of a friendly smile.

You never know who will benefit from the faith you show, especially when things are not the best at the moment. You can always be used by God. It just may be the healing you need as well.

Lord, help me to love you and your people so much that, like Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, my desire is to serve rather than make excuses why I can’t. Amen.

By Katy Huth Jones
Used by Permission

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thoughts by Katy Huth Jones Thoughts by Women

Faith and Fear
Published October 3, 2019

Faith and Fear

“He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”  Mark 4:40

Did you ever play any “trust games”? I remember being blindfolded once and having to trust that the one leading me would not allow me to trip on an unseen hazard and break my neck. It was an anxious several minutes as that person “led” me around.

In Hebrews 11:1, the Bible defines faith as this,

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Both things hoped for and things not seen imply future events, things that have not happened yet. Through faith we have assurance and conviction that God knows what the future will bring. We can be sure God is real and that he loves us. We can have confidence that he will keep his promises, since he always has, and will guide us through the obstacles that life holds, even when we cannot see them in our path.

But fear of what might happen in the future can suck the courage — and the faith — right out of us. We’re told over and over in Scripture not to fear. I have heard there are 365 references to not being afraid, one for each day of the year.

We can wholly trust Jesus while he’s leading us through the unseen hazards of life because he already knows where they are. We can be sure that no matter what happens, he has promised salvation to those who put their faith in him.

Lord, help me not to fear the unknown future. Let me remember you already know what lies ahead and will safely lead me through it. Help me banish fear and grow in faith and trust in you. Amen.

By Katy Huth Jones
Used by Permission

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thoughts by Katy Huth Jones Thoughts by Women

Don’t Look Back
Published September 2, 2019

Don’t Look Back

“One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Grief is more than losing a loved one. We grieve the loss of anything that was important to us, including a home, a career, or our health. In the space of a few months, I lost my mother, then my music career, my home of 24 years, and what was left of my health. I had to move from a small town where I knew everyone to a large city where no one knew me or cared that I could no longer play the flute and piccolo in a symphony because I didn’t have the breath or the stamina. Nor would they know the places I held in my heart so fondly, or meet the loving parents I was privileged to live close to for so long.

During the dark months that followed these devastating losses, God patiently taught me not to look back. My previous life was gone forever. Now I look forward, toward the end of my journey and what awaits there, where my focus should have been all along. Nothing we do or have in this life lasts forever; only our soul is eternal.

If we keep that one truth in mind, it will keep us from looking back with regret. That way we can eagerly press forward toward the finish line.

Don’t let grief stagnate you. The best is yet to come. Believe it.

Lord, forgive me for looking back with longing at the past instead of keeping my eyes on the finish line. Give me the strength and discipline to persevere in my walk with you, until my very last step. Amen.

By Katy Huth Jones
Used by Permission

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thoughts by Katy Huth Jones