God's Promise to Relieve and Surround the Widow is Real

God's Promise to Relieve and Surround is Real.

Rev. Michele Owes and Rev. Willette Wright

[00:00:00]

Rev. Michele Owes: Well, hello, hello. Welcome back to the Teachable Woman Podcast. I am Reverend Michele Owes. With me today is Reverend Dr. Willette Wright. She has been sharing with us today as it relates to the Widow's Walk. I'm going to do a brief recap of what she shared in the first session. Our service to the Lord does not make us exempt from Hebrews 9:23, which states that every man is appointed once to die and then judgment. As preachers of the gospel and those who are serving in the Lord's vineyard, we sometimes feel exempt from judgment or from what God's word says. But we are not exempt. We're all subject to His words.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes.

[00:01:00] Rev. Michele Owes: One thing we didn't say, but I will say now is that we're His children and He has a right to bring us home whenever He desires and He doesn't have to check with us. He doesn't have to get our buy-in because we're his children. Dr. Wright will share some things that will help us to go forward.

Rev. Willette Wright: Amen.

Rev. Michele Owes: One of the things that we briefly discussed is that when we became widows people forgot how to talk with us. We want you to feel comfortable in a conversation with someone who's found themselves in this state. Again, God's love for us has not diminished because we are without our husbands. We are still human beings. We love and want to be loved. We also want to have a conversation.

[00:02:00] Rev. Willette Wright: Amen. One of the things is the Widow’s and Widower’s Class, just briefly. For years, I didn't want to do anything to share with widows. Because you know, I'm still getting over myself for lack of a better way of putting it, and feeling like, what can I say?

Rev. Willette Wright: Cause I'm still kind of plodding through this thing. But I was, I was in a service and Pastor was preaching a message called Give. While hearing that message, I just heard the Lord say, it's time. It's time to teach out of what's happening. I'm thinking, give. You mean you want more.

Rev. Willette Wright: That part of me that was growing and realizing that because I was a widow that didn't stop everything. It even meant being in a [00:03:00] position of giving even more. I needed to determine what does it mean especially as a minister and being in ministry.

Rev. Willette Wright: I started studying it and listening to the message. I used that as a base for teaching the Widows and Widowers class. It spoke volumes not just as a minister, but for every woman who goes through this challenge in life, this horrific tearing, if you will, in life.

Rev. Willette Wright: That class was developed from that message Give. We start out recognizing that in this state, there is so much more that we have to offer. One is because we are yet alive, and two most especially because we [00:04:00] had the blessed privilege and honor of being a spouse. What God has done in us, and what the Lord is doing as we navigate this state and stage in life is for us to be better.

Rev. Willette Wright: Not just so we can say, yes, I made it through. But so that we can come alongside others whether widows or not and know that our God is faithful. The word of God will make a way of escape if we take the escape route. That is the word of God in every situation of our lives. God has promised to us in this state at that stage.

Rev. Willette Wright: In the Widows and Widows Class we use two Scriptures as the foundation. As I share with the class, God has promised some things concerning us. And we talk about from the Old Testament to the New Testament, that the heart of God toward the widow is clear.

[00:05:00] Rev. Willette Wright: It's very clear. And the thing is there are things that He promises us. Navigating the course, trials, and paths of being a widow means God has made some promises. So, you can navigate. You will be able to make it walking in this state of life. One of the two scriptures is Psalm 146:9. We have the class memorize this portion of scripture. It is for the nights when you're sitting and it's just difficult to know what the Lord promises concerning us. The Lord preserveth the strangers. He relieveth the fatherless and the widow, but the way of the wicked, he turneth upside down.

Rev. Willette Wright: In that verse of scripture, right in the midst is that God relieveth the widow.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

[00:06:00] Rev. Willette Wright: Take a look at that word relief to know that everything that we need in navigating this path that the Lord provides because he wants to relieve us.

Rev. Willette Wright: As much as there may seem to be the burden of the trauma or the difficulty, God promises that he will relieve us. In the course of being in this state, there is a promise from God that He will relieve us

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Willette Wright: The second verse of scripture is found in Proverbs 15 verse 25. It says the Lord will destroy the house of the proud, but he will establish the border of the widow. The meaning of the word establish is a blessing. There's relieving and then there's establishing. And when you look at [00:07:00] the word establishing the border of the widow. It's like setting a boundary. We're sheep in His fold if you will.

Rev. Willette Wright: There's a border that's established for you. You can never go too far that He's not there. You can never, you can never be at a place where God's promises do not apply. He's established those borders. As you walked with a husband in marriage, and as you walk now, there's a border. He surrounds us. He encases us. He puts us in a place where no matter how far, He is there.

Rev. Willette Wright: I remember with my husband, that sometimes husbands will pull you back. They have a border that they establish. There are times when [00:08:00] they will pull you back. Seeing those two things, the Lord relieves us, and He establishes a border (boundaries) so we can't go too far. Nothing can get in that will keep us from experiencing God's love. Then we experience His direction, and He comforts us and lets us know He cares for us. We share through the scriptures how intentional the Lord is concerning widows.

Rev. Willette Wright: For anyone listening who is a widow, just put these two scriptures in your heart and mind. If you can't memorize the scripture, know whatever the situation is, the Lord wants to relieve you. He wants you to cast the whole of it on Him because He cares for you.

Rev. Willette Wright: He wants you to know that you have support behind you, you have support around you, and you have a consistent, constant presence knows [00:09:00] of help from the Lord because you're in his heart. God knows what separation is about. We talk about that in the class as well.

Rev. Willette Wright: It's a tearing. When you study that scripture, it's a tearing because the two have become one flesh. When we get married, there is the leaving, cleaving, and weaving. And that's what makes the bond so strong.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Willette Wright: That separation, it's a tear and it's difficult. And it's hard. The Lord wants to relieve us in that state to provide for us so that we know He is with us.

Rev. Willette Wright: He is for you, and he cares about us. I would encourage anyone to get those two scriptures and the words that He relieves us and He establishes His borders. No matter how hard it seems, or how difficult it may be, no matter what the horizon looks like, you can't see over the horizon to know.

Rev. Willette Wright: Okay. I'm not going to fall off. No, you're not. He [00:10:00] establishes that border for us.

Rev. Michele Owes: Oh, that is beautiful. That is so beautiful. Our audience can't see your face. But I want you to know that you just lit up like a Christmas tree as you began to share with us. Just imagine that this was something you did not want to do and now we see the purpose God wanted fulfilled by having you go through this. We often say in ministry that things are not about us, that they just involve us.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yeah,

Rev. Michele Owes: It's hard to think that the death of our husbands wasn't about us if you will.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yeah,

Rev. Michele Owes: Right? Yes, it involved us. One of the questions that I asked God is, what is it that you want from me that you had to derail my whole life to get?

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes, yeah, yeah,

[00:11:00] Rev. Michele Owes: I'm going back to this. I said this with Reverend Cherry, I'll say it with you. This was it! This was it! So many women have no idea how to navigate this state. We had to swim through the muck and the mire to get to a place where God could sit us down and minister to us about what He needed.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes,

Rev. Michele Owes: We are here at a point where we can be of substance and evidence. We can share with someone else to help them. I will just be honest. If my husband were still alive, I don't know that I would be doing this. I would be on a sunny beach somewhere with him, trying to nestle under him.

Rev. Willette Wright: Absolutely.

[00:12:00] Rev. Willette Wright: Yeah. Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: This is also a testament to God's love for the widow because He has assembled a group of widows to help bring others along. This is the methodology of today. It's a podcast. When I was asked to start a podcast, my first question was, what is a podcast? So that tells you how far off I was from what God wanted me to do. I can see the wealth of our experience and your experience in how confidently you shared.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes,

Rev. Michele Owes: You did walk this through. As we ended the last podcast, one of the things that you said was, how are we going to walk through it?

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes, absolutely!

[00:13:00] Rev. Michele Owes: This is evidence of what you shared about God wanting to relieve and surround us. In other words, having boundaries to protect us.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: Because there are things that just can't do.

Rev. Willette Wright: exactly. Yeah,

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes, we do have to be real.

Rev. Willette Wright: Like the house I wanted to buy and move to somewhere. I don't even know where, like, what are you doing? Thank God.

Rev. Michele Owes: Okay. Now that happened to me. I did move somewhere. I moved out of state and bought a house. But that was my path.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: God used that to get me here. For you…

Rev. Willette Wright: Stay right where you are.

Rev. Michele Owes: was to stay and allow him to make you the teacher that he needed you to be, not only for this but for many other things. You [00:14:00]have been instrumental in teaching our upcoming ministers and writing the classes. I've been through them, and they are excellent. The deposit that God placed in you is greater than you knew.

Rev. Willette Wright: Amen. Amen.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yeah. And then when you're sitting in a service and the message is entitled Give and the Lord says, this is it. This is it. What? Give what? I'm still hurting. Exactly. Exactly. So, yeah. I think the class is such a blessing for me. I pray that it spills over to those who take the class so that we can come alongside each other having placed God's word on the inside.

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00:15:00] Rev. Willette Wright: Trust that word and then with each other to bear one another up. You know, to help. To help you see that there's a border over there that you're about to…

Rev. Willette Wright: One of the things we do is let people share where you are and others to encourage. I wasn't the sole teacher of the class. I think that was very important because we had widows of all ages and in different circumstances and situations, some with children, some not.

Rev. Willette Wright: Their experiences were necessary. What the Lord was helping them to navigate the process was necessary to share. They blessed me. As much as I'm pouring out in the word, they were a blessing to me as well.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. I remember one. I don't know her name. I remember that she was traveling around the world teaching temporary [00:16:00] assignments. She joined us from out of the country.

Rev. Willette Wright: Okay.

Rev. Michele Owes: She was in France. I thought to myself, wow, she is continuing. Not just in her immediate environment. She is taking her gifts and talents to the shores wherever God is directing her throughout the world. And we were also in a pandemic. I was like, okay, okay, enough, whining and crying.

Rev. Willette Wright: Exactly.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: You can do something. You figure out what it is the Lord wants you to do, but you can do something. Everyone's sharing did mean something, and it was valuable. It hit us all in different places.

Rev. Michele Owes: And she'd been a widow for a long time.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: She said he's still with me. I still remember.

[00:17:00] That was refreshing. Knowing your husband has gone home to be with the Lord doesn't mean they're not still with you, though not physically. Let me be clear. What they taught you, what you've learned from them, and the benefit of having the experience is still with you.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: It is still yours. The deposit that God wanted them to make is still yours. It's for the kingdom. for the kingdom. Let's be clear. Cause we couldn't sit back and say this is my experience and not share.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes. Absolutely.

Rev. Willette Wright: Right.

Rev. Willette Wright: Amen. Amen.

Rev. Michele Owes: The benefit is for the kingdom. I want to thank you for that. Wow! We are at our time again. I'm excited to say she will be back. [00:18:00] You stay tuned. We're going to share more about this topic. I pray that the same heart we had at the beginning is the same heart you received. We wanted the audience to hear how their Heavenly Father felt about the widow. Willette has shared with us the Word of God.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: He provides an escape for us. He wants to provide relief for us.

Rev. Willette Wright: Mm-Hmm. Mm-Hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: He provided relief for the pain for me.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yeah.

Rev. Willette Wright: Yeah. Amen. Amen. And that's the beauty of the word of God. We're living in a time where all kinds of things are designed to help us navigate, especially post-COVID. But one thing that has never changed and will never change is the word of God. It has an answer for every situation.

[00:19:00] Rev. Willette Wright: The word of God is clear in every situation. There's no ambiguity. There's no cloudiness. He's clear.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Willette Wright: When we think about widows and widowers, the word of God is clear concerning how He feels. Do a cursory review of Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. God's heart towards us is clear. He knows what it means to be separated from the one you love because He could not look on Jesus taking on the sins on the cross.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yeah.

Rev. Willette Wright: We're coming up on Resurrection Sunday and Good Friday.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Willette Wright: When Jesus was taking on the sins of the whole world. God knows that was his only begotten son. When you think about widows, [00:20:00] we're in the heart of God because he understands that tearing away, that separation that will no longer be there.

Rev. Willette Wright: What has happened to God happened to us. God knows because His love for us sent Jesus to the cross. Jesus’ sacrificial death is a demonstration of love. As widows being separated, that one flesh being torn, God knows. In His word is everything that we need to know.

Rev. Willette Wright: He loves us so much. His love for us is so great that he allowed us to be in a married state. What we must know is he's spoken it. He [00:21:00] said it and it's true. It is real. If we receive it, we'll be able to navigate this course.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. Amen. How beautifully stated. That's going to end this session, but we will be back. I want to thank you for being with us today. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for just putting our hearts at ease and helping us to think correctly as it relates to this state.

Rev. Michele Owes: Thank you, our audience, for being with us. We appreciate your time. We know it's valuable and sharing it with us means so much.

Rev. Willette Wright: All right.

Rev. Willette Wright: Thank you. Bye.

Rev. Michele Owes: Alright, thank you. Bye.