Seeking Wisdom Part 1

Introduction

“Welcome to Journey Into Trust Day by Day. My name is Dawn Hill, and today I have a good friend with me, Theresa Crystal, who I’m going to interview in just a few minutes.

“But before we get started, I wanted to share a little bit about how Theresa and I met originally. She had an interesting backstory for how we met that I wanted her to share, so go ahead, Theresa, take it away.”

How We Met & Ministry Today

“A long time ago, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, I was looking to do some outreach in our community and just see how I could do something that might bring women together.

“Someone I didn’t know gave me a call and said, ‘Theresa, I’m trying to do some outreach in our community. I’ve heard that that is an interest of yours. Would you be interested in coming to a meeting that I’m going to have of other like-minded women? We’re going to pray together and just see where God might lead us in this journey?’

“So I was thrilled to go, and when I got to the house, there you were sitting there.”

“That was a great meeting. I thought that you had known Jean for years. I thought everyone kind of knew each other, so that’s so interesting that after praying, God just put you on Jean’s heart. I love that.

“Nowadays, Theresa and I are not in that women’s ministry. It’s kind of changed into different ministries in town, but we have been reaching out to teenagers and college-age girls and doing a small group.

“All summer we had a weekly small group with these girls and just loved hanging out with them. Now that they’re busier in school, we’re trying to meet about once a month. We come to my house, Theresa joins, and she helps lead worship.

“So we are loving being in partnership in ministry together and getting to see each other more often.”

Wisdom and Discernment

“Our college-age ministry right now is studying Proverbs, and we are in Proverbs 4. I just felt like this was so appropriate for what I’m trying to do with this channel and what we’re going to do in this conversation. It’s all about seeking wisdom and where to find it.

“Proverbs 4:1–5 says to gain understanding, to not abandon instruction, and to acquire wisdom and understanding.

“I loved thinking about that passage—that here’s King Solomon spending time with his sons and wanting to impart to them the wisdom that he’s gained. He’s also referring to his father David and how David imparted wisdom to him, and now he’s imparting it to his children.

“I think the key here is that King David was a man after God’s own heart, and he had spent his life walking with God. When Proverbs tells us to get wisdom, part of the way God gives us wisdom is by having us look to older people of faith in our lives—whether it’s our own parents or others who love God and have learned lessons we haven’t learned yet.

“I really hope that when you tune into my channel, whether it’s just me or me with a friend, you would feel like you’re finding somebody who cares for you—maybe a mentor-type person. If you don’t have a godly mom or dad to turn to, I hope this program helps you get to know biblical principles and the Lord better.

“I also think it’s really important before you decide to let somebody influence you, especially on social media, to get to know the source of who you’re listening to and have discernment about whether they’re worth listening to.

“With Theresa here, I would love for you to hear her story, at least an overview, and then we’ll go into more depth later.”

Theresa’s Story

“Well, as I was growing up, I was raised in the inner city of Minneapolis, and there were five kids in our family. We ended up moving around to different places about every three years, so that was difficult trying to keep up with school.

“What this caused was a lot of gaps in my education, so school became a huge struggle for me.

“Once we landed in the Chicagoland area close to graduating high school, I really had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. There were no resources, no money for college, and very little direction. There was a lot of dysfunction going on in our home and financial struggles.

“A friend of mine said, ‘Theresa, I’m going to join the Army. I’m going to go live in Europe.’ I thought, wow, this sounds wonderful. I was working at a box store, and it wasn’t very exciting, and I knew I needed a new environment.

“So I went to a recruiter, and he said, ‘Theresa, you’re very tiny—you’re not even five foot, you don’t weigh even 100 pounds.’ They would have to waive those requirements, and miraculously they did. I believe God had a hand in my life even then.

“So that started my journey of independence. I thought I was leaving all my problems behind, but I didn’t realize that you bring your problems with you.”

God Pursuing Her

“During basic training, I was assigned a battle buddy, and he would tell me, ‘Theresa, God loves you so much. I wish you knew that.’

“I would think, why would God love somebody like me? I smoked, I cussed, and my heart was very hard.

“I didn’t really know if I believed in God, but everywhere I went in the military, there was one person who would say, ‘Theresa, do you know how much God loves you?’

“My hurting heart and my behavior were really an indicator that I needed love, but I didn’t know how to get it in a healthy way.”

“You really were far from God at that point, but now you can look back and see how He was moving you.”

“Oh yes, I can. I can count the number of people who told me that God loved me throughout my military experience.”

God Uses Her Brother

“Eventually, my brother, who had been a drug addict, wrote me a letter and said, ‘Theresa, I have come to know God and His Son Jesus Christ, and He has completely changed my life. I’d like to talk to you about that.’

“I was happy for him, but trust was very hard for me. I had learned to trust in myself.

“I watched him, and it took four years before I really decided that maybe I wanted to know more about God. But God was trying to reveal Himself to me the whole time through people.”

Growth and New Confidence

“In the Army, I had to learn a lot for my job, and school terrified me. But my commanding officer encouraged me to take remedial classes.

“I realized that maybe I could learn, and that I just had gaps in my education. That was a false belief I had about myself.

“Eventually, I was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. I worked at a large hospital, made good friends, and my confidence really began to grow. But I was still very guarded.”

Coming to Faith

“I was in a relationship with someone who was an atheist. He was very intelligent and helped me in my education, but I felt that what he believed was empty.

“When I went home for my brother’s wedding, I saw my siblings being transformed by God. That made me curious.

“Finally, I took a step. I asked for forgiveness, and I opened my heart, even just a little bit. That’s when the transformation began.

“Once I allowed even a little bit of God into my heart and mind, I began to learn to trust. Through His Word, He began to change my habits and show me what was unhealthy.

“It’s taken years and years, but God continues to work.”

Closing

“That’s the beauty of how God works. He knows exactly what we can handle, and His timing is perfect.

“One of my favorite verses is Philippians 1:6—that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.

“I want to close with Proverbs 4, which reminds us that the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter, while the path of darkness leads to destruction.

“God’s way leads to life. He has something so much greater for us.

“In my next interview with Theresa, you’re going to hear more about the freedom that Christ has brought in her life.

“Thanks so much for tuning in. If you’d like more information about me or my book Journey Into Trust, you can visit my website. I’d love for you to like this video, comment, and share what you’re going through or topics you’d like to hear about.

“We’ll see you again soon. Bye-bye.”