{"id":307650,"date":"2022-11-15T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/recognizing-gods-care-for-an-unsettled-world-tim-muehlhoff-3\/"},"modified":"2024-10-18T14:39:33","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T18:39:33","slug":"recognizing-gods-care-for-an-unsettled-world-tim-muehlhoff-3","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/recognizing-gods-care-for-an-unsettled-world-tim-muehlhoff-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Recognizing God&#8217;s Care for an Unsettled World: Tim Muehlhoff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Could God be working in ways we don&#8217;t recognize? On FamilyLife Today, Dave and Ann Wilson host author Tim Muehlhoff&#8211;who pries open our eyes to pick up on how God&#8217;s present and acting powerfully around us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Could God be working in ways we don&#8217;t recognize? Author Tim Muehlhoff pries open our eyes to pick up on how God&#8217;s present and acting powerfully around us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/mp3.familylife.com\/fl2022-11-15.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:28:21","filesize":"25.96M","filesize_raw":"27225416","date_recorded":"2022-11-15 10:00:00","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822],"tags":[2457],"podcast_series":[8578],"cwp_profile":[3245],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-307650","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","tag-tim-muehlhoff","podcast_series-tim-muehlhoff-eyes-to-see","cwp_profile-tim-muehlhoff","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/307650\/recognizing-gods-care-for-an-unsettled-world-tim-muehlhoff-3","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/307650\/recognizing-gods-care-for-an-unsettled-world-tim-muehlhoff-3","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Sbrdezurzu\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/recognizing-gods-care-for-an-unsettled-world-tim-muehlhoff-3\/\">Recognizing God&#8217;s Care for an Unsettled World: Tim Muehlhoff<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/recognizing-gods-care-for-an-unsettled-world-tim-muehlhoff-3\/embed\/#?secret=Sbrdezurzu\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Recognizing God&#8217;s Care for an Unsettled World: Tim Muehlhoff&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"Sbrdezurzu\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Could God be working in ways we don't recognize? Author Tim Muehlhoff pries open our eyes to pick up on how God's present and acting powerfully around us.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"<ul>\n<li>Find resources from this podcast at <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/Products.aspx?categoryid=130\">shop.familylife.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Find more content and resources on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/app\/\">FamilyLife's app<\/a>!<\/li>\n<li>Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303\">Apple Podcast<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm?si=d6dfa8d2415f4750\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Check out all the FamilyLife podcasts on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/familylife-podcast-network\/\">FamilyLife Podcast Network<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2022-11-15.pdf","transcript_content":"<p><strong>Dave: <\/strong>One of my favorite moments in the last 18 months\u2014maybe, it was two years ago; I don\u2019t remember\u2014do you know what I\u2019m going to say?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> No.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> It was sitting in my middle son, Austin, and Kendall\u2019s office in their home with their four kids; two of them, foster kids. Because it was during the pandemic, this meeting was over Zoom with a judge in a courtroom to adopt one of their foster children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> Welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most. I\u2019m Ann Wilson.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> And I\u2019m Dave Wilson, and you can find us at FamilyLifeToday.com or on our FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> app.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>Why did you like it so much?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> First of all, I thought, \u201cThis is going to be so bad, because it\u2019s on Zoom\u2014we\u2019re supposed to be in a courtroom\u2014why are we sitting in this little room in their house?\u201d But holding their other little guy, Ryder, crawling around on us\u2014the judge and other people on the screen <em>watching<\/em> my son adopt a boy, whose life would be <em>traumatic<\/em> if he didn\u2019t intervene\u2014was such a picture of God\u2019s grace in our life.\u201d That\u2019s what I thought.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> \u2014and His adoption of us; yes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> You thought the same thing?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> I get teary.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> You\u2019re teary, right now, thinking about it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes, [emotion in voice] I get teary recalling it\u2014because that is what God does to us\u2014also, knowing his life will be completely different, being raised with Austin and Kendall. It\u2019s this <em>beautiful<\/em> picture; because the judge asked, \u201cDo you understand that he is now<em> your son?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> It was one of those moments, which I feel like I <em>miss<\/em> most of the time; but in that moment, God gave me eyes to see <em>Him<\/em> at work. I just quoted the title of a really good book by the author, Tim Muehlhoff, who\u2019s sitting in our studio today. Tim, welcome back!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> It\u2019s great to be back with you guys. Thanks for having me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> When I got your manuscript, <em>Eyes to See<\/em>, I was like, \u201cI think I know this title.\u201d I didn\u2019t connect it immediately to C.S. Lewis: God giving us \u201ceyes to see\u201d His work in the little\u2026 In some ways, this was such a little simple thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> You mean the adoption of Holden.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes; it was just that miraculous!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> I was sitting in a holy place. I feel like, so often, I <em>miss<\/em> those moments; because they are so simple, and they\u2019re everyday.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> We\u2019re taking for granted that we\u2019re doing this on a computer\u2014and we\u2019re all over the country, watching and being able to observe\u2014it\u2019s kind of miraculous.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> So Tim!\u2014talk about <em>Eyes to See<\/em>. You decided, \u201cI\u2019d better write and help people have that lens to see life\u201d; why?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Because <em>I<\/em> get disappointed, like other people, that I want to see God act in more overt ways. In the book, I share a joke\u2014you\u2019ve all heard this joke\u2014but I\u2019ll tell it very quickly for your listeners. A man gets word that there\u2019s going to be a flash flood. He goes, \u201cI\u2019m fine; God\u2019s going to save me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, the flood waters start to rise. He\u2019s looking out the second story of his house, and a boat goes by. They say, \u201cHey! Jump in the boat, and we\u2019ll save you.\u201d He goes, \u201cNo, I\u2019m good; God\u2019s got me.\u201d Now the floodwaters are even higher; he\u2019s on the <em>roof<\/em>. A FEMA helicopter comes by, and they drop down the ladder, and they say, \u201cJump on the ladder.\u201d He says, \u201cNo, I\u2019m good; God\u2019s got me.\u201d He <em>drowns<\/em>. He stands before God, and he\u2019s mad. God goes, \u201cWhat do you want?! I sent you a radio message, a boat, and a helicopter.\u201d To <em>me<\/em>, it was perfect for the book; because what did he expect?<\/p>\n<p>We know\u2014I mean, you guys are experts at this\u2014expectations determine happiness\u2014expectations of a marriage, a job, a church. \u201cSo what are our expectations of God?\u201d If you were to ask that man on the roof, \u201cWhat were your expectations?\u201d \u201cWell, that God would\u201d\u2014what?\u2014a hand would come down to lift him up?\u2014or winds would blow in such a way that the floodwaters would move away from the house?<\/p>\n<p>What was so fun about writing the book is: do you know the story of how a helicopter was created by a man named Sikorsky? As an 11-year-old boy, he has these dreams of a flying boat that would go straight down, pick people up, and go straight up in the air. He cannot get away from this dream, so he keeps drawing it. He eventually becomes an engineer. Then, in the 1930\u2019s, he forms Sikorsky Air Corps and the first fully-functioning helicopter. It was created to save people!<\/p>\n<p>To this day, if you save a person in a Sikorsky helicopter, you get a pin that is revered within the industry. Thousands, and thousands, and thousands of people have been saved in Sikorsky helicopters. <em>He<\/em> believed that dream came from God. Think about it: you could have said to the man on the roof, \u201cDo you not understand what it took for God to make a helicopter? [Laughter] Get in the helicopter,\u201d\u2014this is God reacting.<\/p>\n<p>But I get that; I get how cool it would be to say: \u201cI survived a flood.\u201d \u201cHow did you guys survive?\u201d \u201cGod rescued me.\u201d \u201cHow did He do that?\u201d \u201cHe lifted me in the air above the floodwaters, and we actually have video evidence of it on a cell phone.\u201d Wouldn\u2019t you <em>want<\/em> that?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> What we think is\u2014and I\u2019ve been in this situation, when my sister was sick\u2014I thought, \u201cGod, if You heal her, <em>You<\/em> will get the glory!\u201d We <em>all<\/em> think that, because He would; and so we\u2019re so disappointed when He <em>doesn\u2019t<\/em> do it like that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> \u2014when He doesn\u2019t. I don\u2019t want to minimize the disappointment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> He can!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Yes, I don\u2019t want to minimize that He can do it.<\/p>\n<p>Although, let me just say this\u2014another thing I put in the book is: I\u2019m a migraine sufferer\u2014and I have prayed that God would take away my migraines. Actually, flying out here, I had to take two Maxalt<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, which is the medication I take. I <em>really<\/em> want God to take away my migraines supernaturally\u2014it would be awesome\u2014but He hasn\u2019t done that. This medication that I take <em>works<\/em>, but how <em>cool<\/em> would it be if He just healed me of migraines?<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m either going to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>become angry at God: \u201cWhy didn\u2019t You answer my prayer in the exact way that I wanted You to answer it?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>or I\u2019m going to step back and say: \u201cEvery great gift is from God,\u201d and \u201cMy talented neurologist, my medication, certain practices I can do: I\u2019m going to praise Him for those things.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Here\u2019s the question: \u201cHow do you get <em>there<\/em>?\u201d It\u2019s so easy to live in the\u2014especially, when a friend, or somebody you know, gets the miraculous healing\u2014and you don\u2019t. You can make your list\u2014I\u2019ve made the list; and then, a day later, I\u2019m like pounding the table\u2014like, \u201cCome on!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> Or, usually, you think, \u201cI\u2019m not as <em>spiritual<\/em> as that person. Maybe God <em>doesn\u2019t love<\/em> me as much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Sounds like you\u2019ve been able to just resolve it, though; is that true?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Let me just say this: I\u2019ve been suffering with migraines for, at least, 20 years. I gave a very raw sermon at my church called \u201cJames on a Migraine.\u201d I was scheduled to preach; and the previous day, I had a <em>blistering<\/em> migraine. With this medication, you can take it, but then you have to wait two hours to take the second dose; so for two hours, I\u2019m sitting in the dark. Again, listeners, who have migraines, know <em>exactly<\/em> what I\u2019m talking about; right?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> I get them too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> I\u2019m preaching the next day on James [1:2]: \u201cConsider it pure joy when you encounter various trials.\u201d I\u2019m sitting there, working on this sermon, with a migraine. It was one of the most raw sermons I\u2019ve ever given, where I say, \u201cThere\u2019s part of me that\u2019s angry that God didn\u2019t answer my prayer that day in the dark: \u2018Take it away.\u2019 But the joy isn\u2019t happiness\u2014that\u2019s the mistake we\u2019d make with that passage\u2014happiness is the American way of thinking about joy. Joy is more of a maturing process.\u201d As I\u2019m sitting there, I\u2019m wrestling with the Holy Spirit in the dark; and the Holy Spirit is saying, \u201cHow has this matured you?\u2014the migraines.\u201d I can think of ways it\u2019s matured me: my view of God, my ability to empathize with other people.<\/p>\n<p>Dave, I don\u2019t want your listeners to think, \u201cWhat a <em>godly<\/em> man!\u201d It took me 20 years to get to the point to write <em>Eyes to See<\/em>. It\u2019s my wrestling with God of how I can see Him amidst the disappointment in not seeing the big overt miracle. We know, theologically, common grace is just as much God acting as the parting of the Red Sea\u2014theologians absolutely agree on that: \u201cGod\u2019s good gifts are all His good gifts,\u201d\u2014so that\u2019s the cultivation of the \u201cseeing eye.\u201d You have to step back and say, \u201cWhat am I thankful for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I teach self-defense; I have a black belt in Kung Fu\u2014it\u2019s a virtuous system\u2014it\u2019s <em>never<\/em> to be used as the aggressor. You see, God didn\u2019t leave us alone. When I\u2019m at these domestic violence centers, I\u2019m telling women, \u201cI get why you would ask the question: \u2018Where is God in my abuse?\u2019 I don\u2019t have an answer for that; I just don\u2019t. But you\u2019re at a center, being run by a woman who was abused; and now, she\u2019s helping <em>you<\/em> with the aftereffects.\u201d I think that\u2019s God\u2019s common grace.<\/p>\n<p>Dave, it goes back to the question: \u201cIn that moment, when I was drowning in the floodwaters, You were watching me, God; <em>right<\/em>?\u201d And the answer is, \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cYou <em>had <\/em>\u00a0the power to supernaturally lift me up.\u201d \u201c<em>Yes.<\/em>\u201d The church has <em>always<\/em> wrestled with this: <em>Jesus<\/em> suffered; His main disciples were all <em>martyred<\/em>. I guess the only thing I can say is: Jesus <em>never<\/em> promised you you\u2019d be exempt from this. Maybe we put that expectation on God; but <em>Jesus<\/em> Himself never said\u2014no; He said, \u201cI\u2019m telling you right now, \u2018This gospel\u2019s going to divide families.\u2019 I\u2019m saying, \u2018You will be hated in My name. Prepare for these difficulties.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maybe we\u2019ve shifted the Christian faith to fit <em>our<\/em> expectations, but we need to allow Jesus to define it as He sees fit. He never promised we\u2019d be exempt from pain; He promised, \u201cI\u2019ll always be with you in your pain.\u201d And ultimately, in heaven, He\u2019s going to rectify <em>everything<\/em>. Revelation 21 is such a beautiful chapter of that: He <em>will<\/em> rectify everything, but we\u2019re not there yet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> And yet, as I listen to you, I\u2019m thinking, \u201cThis is one of the biggest issues that is causing our children to walk away.\u201d You and I grew up in a day, where if there\u2019s pain and suffering in the world, we\u2019d hear about it on the news; we\u2019d maybe read about it in a paper. But now, it\u2019s in front of us\u2014and especially our kids\u2014every second on a cell phone\/on the\u00a0 internet. We see all this evil. I think our kids are saying, \u201cIf that\u2019s who God is, and He doesn\u2019t stop this, I\u2019m out,\u201d\u2014rather than\u2014\u201cI\u2019m going to make a list of common grace blessings that I can still believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> And Tim, you\u2019re a professor at Biola University.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> You deal with these kids.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> These kids are talking to you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Yes, I\u2019m a technological immigrant\u2014I can remember what it was like when we didn\u2019t have the internet\u2014I <em>know<\/em> what that life is like. But I teach <em>natives<\/em>\u2014that this is DNA\u2014they are 24\/7 hooked into this virtual world of social media. They\u2019re not separating themselves from it, so it <em>constantly<\/em> weighs on them. I do think they get a skewed\u2014we call this \u201cMean World Syndrome\u201d\u2014that they, actually, get a skewed view of the world; because now, it\u2019s all pandemic, all Ukraine, all sex trafficking\u2014all this. They don\u2019t realize the <em>beauty<\/em> of the world. It\u2019s both, for sure.<\/p>\n<p>Dave, going back to your comment: I get a constant reminder, every single day, that God is [supposedly] inactive in the world; I mean, 24\/7. We need to counteract that with the common grace stuff; that even, the technology by which you\u2019re getting the news is common grace, for sure. We can misuse it\u2014I think it <em>is<\/em> being misused today\u2014we see depression rates <em>through the roof<\/em>. We\u2019re going to have to counteract this. Our students\u2014your children\u2014feel the weight of this in a way that\u2014you\u2019re right Dave, our generation\/we could get away from it a little bit; we weren\u2019t aware of all of it\u2014today, they\u2019re aware of <em>all<\/em> of it in <em>crushing<\/em> ways. We need to remind ourselves of the good thing God is doing <em>constantly<\/em>: the big miracles as well as the small things that He\u2019s doing 24\/7.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> It\u2019s interesting; when you say that, I\u2019m thinking\u2014I can\u2019t remember his name\u2014the actor who plays Jim on <em>The Office<\/em>. During the pandemic, remember what he did?\u2014every Sunday night, he did that little broadcast, which was common grace: \u201cHere\u2019s all the good that\u2019s happening in the world, right now, when it seems like it\u2019s all bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> It was <em>great<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> And it blew up [increased viewership]; because people were like, \u201cI <em>need<\/em> eyes to see something good going on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walk us back to the conversations we would have, at our dinner tables with our families, to help our families see common grace\u2014God\u2019s good gifts\u2014in the middle of all the evil.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Yes; let\u2019s take a look at the issue of homelessness; it\u2019s really pronounced in California. We have Skid Row\u2014one of the largest accumulations of the homeless population in the entire world\u2014is right there in Skid Row. So is the Dream Center: it is right there in the heart of Skid Row. It is this <em>remarkable<\/em> group of committed individuals\u2014Christians\/non-Christians\u2014what they do is they have a plan for helping the homeless. You can go and volunteer: you can sign up for one evening; you can sign up for a weekend. It\u2019s <em>amazing<\/em> work that they do.<\/p>\n<p>On one hand, you have the homeless situation\u2014and again, it\u2019s complex; very complicated why homelessness exists. Let\u2019s set that aside for one second\u2014the Dream Center just steps in; they say: \u201cWe\u2019re here to help you, spiritually,\u201d and \u201cWe\u2019re here to help you, physically.\u201d That, to me, is all common grace.<\/p>\n<p>The beautiful thing about common grace\u2014I quote Wayne Grudem, one of our top systematic theologians\u2014he said, \u201cIt is entirely possible that non-Christians get more common grace than Christians.\u201d In other words, your non-Christian architect might be more studied, more dedicated, better skilled than a Christian architect. Common grace is bestowed on <em>everybody<\/em>\u2014<em>lavished<\/em> on the entire world\u2014because God wants to, 24\/7, give us all of these inventions and discoveries.<\/p>\n<p>My favorite one is penicillin. You get a sloppy lab tech, who goes off on a two-week vacation and doesn\u2019t clean his petri dishes. He comes back; he\u2019s annoyed because fungus has grown on some of the petri dishes, but not <em>all<\/em> of them. And some, it only grew on only <em>half <\/em>of the petri dish. He does this really interesting study, and then writes an obscure paper about it; and it gets buried.<\/p>\n<p>Now, go all the way to WWII. British soldiers are dying in the bloody battlefields of WWII because of disease. This one guy, a medical researcher, is tasked with: \u201cYou need to save our soldiers.\u201d He goes through the archives; he <em>finds<\/em> this obscure paper, and goes, \u201cOh, my goodness!\u201d This is penicillin. The guy discovered penicillin! It saved, to this day, <em>millions<\/em> of lives. We cannot <em>imagine<\/em> life without penicillin; we\u2019d be in the Dark Ages.<\/p>\n<p>I read a book on medical histories, written by a non-Christian, who says, literally, about penicillin: \u201cThe biggest serendipitous mistake ever done.\u201d He\u2019s not attributing it to God, but we know the rest of the story; we know that\u2019s absolutely from God. That\u2019s, I think, is one way God works\u2014is He gives us these clues, and He partners with us\u2014and we get penicillin, that we can\u2019t imagine life without.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> I\u2019m thinking of the dinner table: stories like that are remarkable; and then, to attribute it to God.<\/p>\n<p>As you\u2019ve been talking about our list, what\u2019s been going through my mind is: \u201cIt\u2019s almost like we create this neurological pathway, I\u2019m assuming, if we\u2019re always going to the negative or seeing: \u2018This is the pain in the world,\u2019 \u2018This is the negative,\u2019\u201d\u2014there\u2019s enough going on in the world, we can all live there and be there.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m also thinking, \u201cCan we help <em>train<\/em> our little kids in the home to see God\u2019s common grace?\u201d How would we do that?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Happiness has become a <em>huge<\/em> academic topic\u2014it\u2019s all the rage\u2014getting funded by the United States government. There\u2019s a man named Shawn Achor, who wrote a book called <em>The Happiness Advantage<\/em>, where he says: \u201cIf you just take five positives a day\u2014notice five positives, and write them down\u2014do it for a week; how long do you think the aftereffects of that would last?\u201d If we were to take a look at the hypothalamus [in the brain], which tends to register powerful emotions.<\/p>\n<p>By the way, I share this at domestic violence groups; because you can understand how, after enduring that kind of abuse, your perspective would be: \u201cMy life, rightfully, is crushingly difficult,\u201d\u2014we would <em>never<\/em> minimize that in a million years\u2014\u201cBut in the midst of that, can you think of five positives?\u201d I actually do this with the women. Sometimes, you need friends to give you the five; because you\u2019re sitting in such pain: \u201cI can\u2019t think of five.\u201d It\u2019s interesting, in these groups, that women will come along and say, \u201cYou\u2019ve got three. Let me give you two more that\u2019s true about <em>you<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You do that for a week; how long do you think would be the positive effects of just doing it for a week?\u2014five positives a day; you write them down.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> I\u2019m going to say, \u201cAnother half week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Half a week.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Another three or four days.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> I would have said: \u201cHalf a day!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> A half a day!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Are we pessimists, Tim? I mean, which\u2014<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> We\u2019re pessimists; I\u2019m like, \u201c<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> needs a cup of happiness.\u201d [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Six months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Six <em>months<\/em>?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> Come on!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Six <em>months<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> What do you mean, \u201csix months\u201d?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> He can do this\/he can do an MRI and register\u2014I don\u2019t want to butcher the science\u2014he can register the effects that it\u2019s had, particularly, on your hypothalamus: six months.<\/p>\n<p>Guess what?\u2014don\u2019t do it for a <em>week<\/em>. What if you did that for six months?\u2014every day, sit down, and say, \u201cI\u2019m going to be thankful for five things.\u201d Remember our list?\u2014we did it in the previous one [broadcast].<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes, yes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> We did the material; for sure, that\u2019s important\u2014then, we did the big dramatic, which that\u2019s important\u2014but then, we did the spiritual.<\/p>\n<p>So to sit down every day and say\u2014let\u2019s do mine yesterday\u2014I had to take two migraine medications on a plane; you do not want to get a migraine on a plane. But listen:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I\u2019m on a plane, with my wife.<\/li>\n<li>Coming to Orlando to be on <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>We used to be on staff with Campus Crusade [for Christ]<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> for almost 30 years. Noreen\u2019s off with one of her best friends right now.<\/li>\n<li>Tonight, I get to go and have dinner with my in-laws, who are just <em>wonderful<\/em> people.<\/li>\n<li>I have a laptop computer\u2014there\u2019s something I forgot to do\u2014that today, I got a chance to <em>do<\/em> it in time to not be late, via technology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Again, that\u2019s five.<\/p>\n<p>You go: \u201cYou know, Lord, I\u2019m bummed about the migraine,\u201d\u2014I will acknowledge that\u2014\"But life is still\/I can see still some of the positives.\u201d Again, that\u2019s the beauty of what Shawn Achor is saying: \u201cYou don\u2019t deny the negative,\u201d\u2014that would be <em>supremely<\/em> unhealthy\u2014\"But can you train your brain to see the positive <em>first<\/em>; and then, recognize the negative?\u201d I think today, in the pandemic, we\u2019ve flipped it\u2014we <em>see<\/em> the negative first and then, maybe, we go\u2026\u2014Achor believes you can actually <em>switch<\/em> that and go to the <em>positive<\/em> first.<\/p>\n<p>I have a whole thing in the book about how God\u2019s constructed our brain: how He\u2019s given us an autoimmune system. Even people, who don\u2019t have access to the fine medical care that we have in this country, God\u2019s given them a pretty robust immune system, that are like these Marines inside your body, that go to disease, pain\u2014all those different kind of things\u2014it\u2019s pretty cool to see the body operate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> That\u2019d be a <em>great<\/em> family table assignment\u2014practice\u2014like, \u201cLet\u2019s do this as a family: \u2018Where did you see God work today?\u2019\u201d\u2014you train your kids. I\u2019m telling you what: if you\u2019ve got adult kids, you could do it on the phone with adult kids: \u201cHey! How are you doing? I want to hear three great things that happened today in your life,\u201d or \u201c\u2026this week.\u201d Help them start thinking the positive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> I think that the scientific evidence with that is <em>amazing<\/em>\u2014like six months. What\u2019s going through my head is anxiety\u2014the depression we\u2019re all facing and our kids are facing\u2014that could really help.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Again, you <em>don\u2019t<\/em> deny the bad; it\u2019s, literally: \u201cThe glass half full, half empty.\u201d But you can <em>train<\/em> your brain to <em>see<\/em> it\u2019s half full, and I\u2019m not going to deny the emptiness.<\/p>\n<p>Ann, I love it! What a great family discipline.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Hey, I came up with that idea, not Ann.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim:<\/strong> Oh! [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> I thought I thought of it too!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> I\u2019m just kidding. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shelby:<\/strong> You\u2019re listening to Dave and Ann Wilson with Tim Muehlhoff on <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em> We\u2019ll hear how Dave, and quite frankly all of us, can struggle to see the good in <em>every<\/em> situation in just a minute.<\/p>\n<p>But first, Tim\u2019s book is called <em>Eyes to See: Recognizing God\u2019s Common Grace in an Unsettled World.<\/em> I was thinking about this the other day\u2014modern medicine is one of those things\u2014if I have a headache, and I decide to take acetaminophen or ibuprofen, it eliminates my headache; and that is a common grace that I often overlook. I\u2019m so thankful for Tim pointing out certain things like this, that we just don\u2019t see all the time. His book will highlight a <em>number<\/em> of different things.<\/p>\n<p>We want to send you a copy as our \u201cThanks,\u201d when you give to help more families hear life-giving conversations just like the one you\u2019re hearing today. You can partner, financially, online at FamilyLifeToday.com or by calling 800-358-6329; that\u2019s 800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Okay; now, back to Dave and Ann: \u201cSo who\u2019s better at seeing the good in every situation?\u2014is it Ann?\u2014or is it Dave?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Ann does this every week in our family\u2014you are a positive, life-speaking\u2014eyes to see the good common grace of God.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> You are too!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shelby:<\/strong> Tomorrow, on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, Dave and Ann Wilson are back in the studio, talking with Tim Muehlhoff, about how to engage non-Christians with modern works of art so they can see God working in their lives too; that\u2019s tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>On behalf of Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Shelby Abbott. We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife, a Cru<sup>\u00ae <\/sup>Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>Helping you pursue the relationships that matter most.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?<\/p>\n<p>Copyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2022 FamilyLife. 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