Seven Themes: Nancy Reflects on Her Sixty-Year Spiritual Journey

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: During the night last night, while I was thinking about today’s program, things were just running through my head. I was remembering those days back in college when I was a piano major. There’s a type of musical composition that’s called “theme and variations.”

I’ve played these by various composers in the past, and here’s what it does: it starts with a simple musical theme and just plays it. And then, the composer gives you that theme made in different variations.

So you play it multiple times, sometimes ten, twenty or thirty times. It can be a short theme, and then you just play it over and over again, but it’s treated a little differently each time. It sounds different each time, but you can always hear that same theme running through the music from beginning to end.

Dannah Gresh: We’ll hear some spiritual “themes and variations” today on the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Brokenness: The Heart God Revives, for Thursday, May 18, 2023. I’m Dannah Gresh.

Do you remember the day you gave your life to the Lord? Not everyone can pinpoint an exact date, but Nancy knows that on May 14, 1963 she recognized her sin and trusted in Jesus to save her. That was sixty years ago last Sunday. 

This week we’ve been looking at the so-called “spiritual birthday gifts” all of us believers have received. It’s an encouraging list! If you’ve missed any of those episodes, you’ll find them on the Revive Our Hearts app or at ReviveOurHearts.com/podcasts.

Today, Nancy has another encouraging list for us. I’ll let her explain how it ties into that concept of theme and variations that she just mentioned. Here’s Nancy.

Nancy: I first trusted Christ as a four-year-old girl. It’s my first conscious memory, and a really precious one to me! And now I’m looking back on this sixty-year journey. Let me just say, sixty years goes faster than you can imagine! But as I look back on these years, there are a few recurring themes that are woven throughout my life, and I’ve seen them play out in a lot of different ways.

I’ve seen them play out in different seasons of my life. I’ve been through seasons of doubt about my faith, seasons of spiritual dryness, times of discouragement, times of defeat—feeling like I just could not get victory over a particular sin or pattern in my life. But again and again and again those same themes, those same truths, have always been there running throughout the music of my life.

And today, I want to take these moments to highlight seven of those themes. They are all interconnected. It’s hard to separate one from the other, but I’ve been reflecting on these recurring themes in my life. I’ll just tell you from the outset they’re really simple; they’re very basic. 

I’m not going to say anything, probably, that is new to you. But don’t we need those frequent reminders? I know I do, and I'm thinking of how Peter in 2 Peter 1:12 says, “I know you know these things, but I think it’s important to remind you of them” (paraphrased).

It’s important to remind me of these things, because we drift away from the things we know so easily. That’s why we need these reminders. Now, as I think about these seven themes, we could do a lengthy teaching series on each of these. 

We’re not going to do that today. I’m just going to touch on them, and I think they’ll be an encouragement to you wherever you are in your journey. Maybe you’ve known the Lord for decades—maybe longer than I have—or you may be a brand-new believer, just getting started in this journey. Maybe you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus at all.

I hope these thoughts, these reflections, these themes—recurring themes in my life and in God’s Word—will strengthen and encourage you wherever you are in your relationship with Christ! So let me start with:

Number One: The Character of God 

This is so foundational! As A. W. Tozer said, “What we believe about God is the most important thing in our lives.” Over and over again I’ve seen this theme, for decades now, running through my life. As I’ve gotten into the Word of God, as I’ve gotten to know God, I see, for example, that He is faithful.

God is faithful. God never changes. He is always the same, even when everything else around 

us seems to be changing. We change, our relationships change, our family dynamics change, our jobs change. Our age changes, the people around us, the culture around us, the current prevailing philosophies . . . these things all change, but God never changes! He’s faithful throughout. The character of God, His covenant-keeping love, what an incredible gift that is to each of us!

The fact that He loves us, not because we are loveable, but because He has made a covenant to love us, and He keeps His covenant, He keeps His promises. The fact that God is good and what He does is good, the fact that God can be trusted. He is always reliable.

The character of God: this is the foundation that my parents started to pour into me from before the time I was born and for all those early years of my life. They helped me to get grounded in the character of God. What a rich gift that is and a blessing and a joy, now sixty years later, to know that God really can be trusted! That’s the first theme.

The second theme I’ve been reflecting on is the gospel.

Number Two: The Wonder of the Gospel
 

The gift of the gospel, the power of the gospel. The gospel is what sets Christianity apart from every other religion in all of history. 

The gospel is not about what we can do for God to make ourselves acceptable to Him or approved by Him or good enough for Him. The gospel is about what Jesus has done for us. When we could not do anything for ourselves, He loved us.

God sent His Son to save us from our sin, to take the place that we deserve for our sin, to endure the death that we deserve, to die for our sin, to give us His mercy and His saving grace. The gospel. You know, I never want to lose the wonder of the gospel!

My dad and my mom never lost the wonder. My dad, he didn’t cry very often, but one of the rare things that would make him cry was just when he was talking about the wonder that God would have saved him when he was a rebellious, hellbound, hellbent sinner in his mid-twenties. He just never got over the wonder that God would save him!

Well, I’ve never gotten over the wonder. I don’t ever want to get over the wonder that God would save me—not because of anything I could do, but because of His saving mercy and grace. The power of the gospel, that’s what changes us!

That’s what changes me, not only saves me but sanctifies me and keeps me walking with the Lord. It’s the gift of God, the gift of God’s grace, the power of the gospel . . . and it’s what changes others. That’s why when we pray for others, we’re not depending on what we can do to fix them or change them or give them a heart for God. But we’re asking God to infuse the power of the gospel into their lives. The gospel transforms, it brings change, it’s beautiful. It’s a wonder, it’s a gift! So: The Character of God, The Gospel

Number Three: The Word of God

Wow, do I love His Word! It’s true; it’s powerful; it’s wonderful; it’s beautiful; it is lifegiving! It is bread and life and water and food, drink. It’s everything we need! And all of God’s Word is needed, from Genesis to Revelation.

Of course, there are some parts of it that might just naturally enjoy more than others, but we need all of it. I’ve learned that God’s Word is more necessary to my soul than physical food is to my body. The importance of getting into God’s Word every day: reading it, meditating on it, memorizing it, studying it, sharing it with others, getting into God’s Word and getting God’s Word into us. 

I’ve learned the importance of counseling my heart according to His Word and not relying on what I think makes sense or what seems right, not relying on what my emotions may tell me at the moment. But infusing my life, my heart, my mind, my everything with the Word of God. Telling myself the truth of God’s Word even when everything around me seems to contradict it. The wonder of His Word, that’s a theme—a beautiful theme—that runs through these last sixty years for me.

Number Four: The Gift of the Body of Christ

The people of God, how thankful I am for parents who walked with God, for family members, for mentors, for pastors, for people in my local church, for fellow colleagues in this ministry where I serve, for friends like many of our listeners—those who have partnered with us in this ministry. 

The importance of staying close to wise godly friends, we need each other! We need each other for mutual encouragement, for growth. I think of verse 13 in Hebrews chapter 3 that says to “encourage each other daily.” 

We need each other daily; we need the encouragement. Why? “So that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.” If I don’t have other people in my life who model Christ-likeness to me, who encourage me, who challenge me, who rebuke me when I need it, then my heart is going to become hardened by the deception of sin.

 

I need other people. Nobody can do the Christian life solo. I can’t, you can’t. This is a theme that’s running through my life, the beauty of the body of Christ, the people of God, and how much I need them! Here’s another theme that has run through my life. 

Number Five: We Have Been Blessed by God in Order to Be a Blessing to Others

I’ve often said to friends, family members, kids that come and visit . . . As they leave the house I’ll say, “Be blessed, and be a blessing!” I say it sometimes to Robert, “Be blessed and be a blessing!”

We have been blessed. We need our eyes to be wide open to see the mercies and the blessings of God that are fresh each day. But we’ve been blessed by God, not so that we can just sit and soak and enjoy those blessings.

They’re not supposed to end up in us. A body of water or a lake that only has water flowing into it and doesn’t have anything flowing out of it, it becomes stagnant, it becomes toxic. We’ve been blessed to have God’s blessings flow into our lives so that they can flow out of us to be a blessing to others.

And one of the recurring themes, beautiful motifs and themes, in my sixty years of walking with the Lord is the joy of being a blessing to others—serving others, loving others, giving out of what God has given to me.

You know, sometimes we don’t feel like giving, we don’t feel like being a blessing. We think, I want somebody to give to me. I want somebody to be a blessing to me. I need, I need, I need.” But that is such a dead-end street. The beauty and the joy in the Christian life come from being willing to be poured out, to be spent.

And sometimes we get tired of being poured out, of being spent. I know I do. If you’re a mom or grandmom or in the workplace or in your local church, you get tired, too. But here’s what I’ve learned: we will never regret being a giver! We will never regret being poured out, being spent, for Christ’s sake and for others.

We won’t get to heaven and think, I wish I’d given less. You know what we’re going to think? We’re going to be thinking, I wish I had given more! God gave so much to me. He poured so much into my life. I wish I had given more!

And so, when I get up in the morning, my first thoughts are typically about myself and my own needs. But the beautiful theme that I’ve heard running through my life, woven through my days and these years is, “Nancy, you’ve been blessed” (Yes, I have!) “You’ve been blessed so you can be a blessing, so you can give to others, so you can invest in their lives.” There’s joy in serving and giving!

Well, 1) The Character of God, 2) The Gospel of Christ, 3) The Word of God, 4) The People of God, 5) We’ve Been Blessed to Be a Blessing. And then, here’s a sixth reflection, a theme that I’ve seen woven through my life day in and day out through all these years. 

Number Six: The Grace of God Is Enough! 

His grace is sufficient. If I have Christ and His grace, I have everything I need for every day and every circumstance that could ever enter my life. His grace is enough.

What is God’s grace? God’s grace is His supply—who He is related to who I am and all that I need. All that I am not, He is. All that I lack, He has. For my emptiness He gives me His fullness. Now, you and I need the grace of God for every single aspect of our lives—everything!

We need God’s grace when we sin, because we can’t be forgiven apart from the grace of God. We need God’s grace when we’re sorrowing, when we’re hurting, when we’re wounded, when we’re in pain. The grace of God brings hope and comfort and healing and help. 

We need God’s grace for our suffering. When it doesn’t seem fair, when it isn’t fair, the grace of God comes and rescues us out of our pool of self-pity and allows us to rise above the suffering and muck and mire and messiness of this present world. The grace of God is enough for that.

We need God’s grace in order to serve Him and others. Paul said, “I served, I worked harder than all of them, but it wasn’t me, it was the grace of God in me” (1 Cor. 15:10 paraphrased).

And if we’re going to pour out for others, we need God to give us something that we can give to others. I don’t have anything to offer you or anyone else—those in my family, those in our ministry, those listening to this program—I don’t have anything to offer apart from the grace of God.

It’s the grace of God that sanctifies us. Sometimes I think we think we just need God’s grace in order to get saved (and for me that was sixty years ago). Yes, I needed God’s grace then, but I need God’s grace today to become more like Jesus, to be conformed to His image. You do, too. It’s the grace of God that sanctifies us.

You know, as we walk with God over the years . . . When I was a kid I used to have this picture in my head that when I was one of those “old people” I knew who were wonderful Christians, I thought, Well, it will just get easier. The Christian life will get easier, and I’ll get to the place where there won’t be struggle, it won’t be as challenging.”

I want to tell you now that life doesn’t get easier! In some ways, it gets harder—physically, emotionally, mentally. We slow down in ways, we have adversity in ways we didn’t experience when we were younger. 

Now, if you’re younger, that probably isn’t very encouraging to you, but here’s what I know: whatever happens in my life, however hard it gets . . . Robert and I have some elderly friends who are going through some very deep and difficult waters right now. But whatever happens, there is never, ever a lack of God’s grace.

There will never be a moment or a circumstance that He will not give grace to handle. So, how do I get God’s grace? I humble myself. God resists the proud Scripture tells us He gives grace—He pours grace—into the humble (see James 4:6).

What does it mean to humble ourselves? It means to say, “Help, Lord, I can’t do this! I . . . need . . . You!” I can’t count the number of times I’ve cried out to the Lord over these sixty years and said, “Lord, help! I can’t do this! I need You!” And that’s music to God’s ears. Into that cry He brings His all-sufficient grace!

Let me give you one more, just a takeaway, a theme that’s been running through my life over all these years, and that’s,

Number Seven: The Importance of Keeping Our Eyes on the Finish Line

We tend to get just so consumed by what we can see around us right now.

But I want to tell you, whatever you see looking around right now—in our world or in your church or in your family or the mess in your workplace or in your own life or health—what you see now is not the end of the story. It’s not! 

The outcome will be good. It will be beautiful. It will be glorious, and it’s assured! There’s no doubt about the outcome. As you keep your eyes on Christ, the Author and the Finisher of your faith, you will come to the place where you will look back and you will say, “Oh yes, I see now what He was doing!” 

And the sufferings of that time were not worth comparing with the glories that He has now revealed to us at this end time. You see, our sacrifices, our labors will be rewarded. We will be made like Jesus. We will see Him, and we will be with Him in His presence for all eternity.

And so Scripture says, Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night [yes, there are tears, yes there are hard places] but joy comes in the morning” (NKJV). The night may be long, it may be very dark, but morning is coming, and there will be joy. Don’t forget it! Well, I could add many more to this, but these are foundational for me. 

1) The Character of God, 2) The Gospel of Christ, 3) The Word of God, 4) The Body of Christ, 5) We’ve Been Blessed to Be a Blessing, 6) His All-Sufficient Grace, and 7) Keeping Our Eyes on the Finish Line. These are some things that have been so encouraging to me! They’re recurring themes in the music of my life. I want them to encourage you!

I’ve just returned from a beautiful but grueling ministry trip. We had some incredible opportunities, such a joy to see what God is doing in other parts of the world. But at the same time I came back, well, tuckered out and with a congested head—my nose, my ears. I’ve just not been feeling well the past several days. And there are some new challenges that our ministry is facing—good problems—but problems of growth, challenges in some areas relationally, and in other parts of my life. Some days, I’ll just be honest with you, I just feel old and tired.

So here we are celebrating sixty years of walking with the Lord, but I’ll just be honest, some days it feels hard to put one foot in front of the other and just keep pressing on. But as I reflect on these themes in my life, I’ll tell you this: I’ve never been more sure than I am today of the reality, the beauty, the wonder of Christ! He’s precious! He’s worth it! He’s worth it all!

And I’ll tell you this, there’s a sweetness, there’s a richness, there’s a joy of the long-term walk with Him. It’s the same as if you’ve been in a long and faithful and growing marriage. You get to a point (it doesn’t mean it’s easy, you may have more health problems than you did before!) there’s a sweetness, there’s a beauty to that long-term relationship.

So I want to encourage you to press on, press into Christ. Let me share this passage with you as a wrap-up here. I’ve been memorizing and meditating on the book of Jude, and someday I hope to be able to do a whole teaching series on Jude, but let me just read the last paragraph to you. I’ve been thinking about it this morning. 

After talking about all the things that will go on in the last days and false teachers and ungodly people and wrong ways of thinking, Jude says: 

But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God . . . (vv. 20–21).

Now, in the opening of Jude in verse 1, he said, “We are kept by God,” but here he says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (v. 21). Which is it? Does He keep us or do we keep ourselves? 

It’s both. We work, we press into Christ, but we do it by His enabling keeping power. And we do it in hope! He says: 

. . . waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. 

And what do we do as we wait? Well, there’s work to do! Verse 22, 

Have mercy on those who waver; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. (vv. 21–23)

We keep pressing on into loving and serving and blessing and trying to rescue others with the mercy we’ve received from Christ. But then, look at those last two verses of the book of Jude. What’s the ultimate end?

Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy. (vv. 24–25).

What’s He saying? He’s saying, “We are weak, but He is strong!” He will hold me fast.’ He will hold you fast—all the way to the finish line! 

And then look at the purpose of it all, the last verse, verse 25:

 “To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.” 

Song: Kristyn Getty

When I fear my faith will fail,
Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail,
He will hold me fast

I could never keep my hold
Through life's fearful path
For my love is often cold
He must hold me fast.

He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast. ¹

Nancy: Thanks so much for letting me have this opportunity today to share with you a little bit of this reflection on my spiritual journey. It’s always a joy to connect with you and to encourage you in the Lord. I want you to know, too, how deeply grateful I am for the prayers, the encouragement, and the support that so many of our listeners provide for this ministry.

As we’ve been sharing with you over the past couple of weeks, this month marks the end of our fiscal year. May and December are the two months each year when we particularly trust the Lord to provide additional resources to help keep the ministry strong throughout the year.

Thank you to each one who has already made a gift this month and said that you want to stand with and support the ministry of Revive Our Hearts. If this ministry has been a blessing to you, and you haven’t had a chance yet to make a gift at this important time, let me encourage you to do that.

As I’ve learned and keep learning, you can’t outgive God! It’s a joy to give to support what God is doing in this world. Robert and I love giving to the work of Revive Our Hearts as well as other ministries that God has used in our lives and around the world. 

Thanks for praying with us about this month’s financial need, and for giving whatever gift the Lord puts in your heart to make in this important time in our ministry calendar. Thank you so much! 

Dannah: Yes, and this month as a thank you for your donation of any amount, we’ll send you a copy of (Un)remarkable: Volume 1. It’s a collection of short biographies of women who knew they were unremarkable in themselves, but God did remarkable things through them!

As you read these stories, you’ll realize God wants to use us in remarkable ways to build His kingdom in our day. You’ll also get instructions on how you can download an advanced digital copy of the brand-new book (Un)remarkable: Volume 2. If you love biographies, you need these books!

To support the ministry, just visit ReviveOurHearts.com, or call us at 1-800-569-5959. Be sure to request your copy of (Un)remarkable when you contact us with your donation.

McKenzie Skidmore felt like she didn’t know how to be a mom. She was so nervous she was going to get motherhood wrong. Tomorrow you’ll hear how God brought the body of Christ together to help McKenzie learn how to be a mom and embrace the remarkable role God has for her. You’ll hear that story tomorrow right here on Revive Our Hearts.

Now, here’s Nancy once again to close our time in prayer.

Nancy: Oh Lord, how I thank You for Your incredible mercy in my life, for staying power that has come from You. You have kept me. I could not have kept myself, but You have kept me. You have preserved me. You have kept revealing Yourself and making Yourself known to me and propping me up and holding me up and pouring grace into me when I felt so empty and so depleted.

Thank you that you do that not just for me, not just for people who are in Christian ministry, but You do it for all those who belong to You. So I pray, Lord, would You give a fresh infusion of grace, of strength, of purpose, of perseverance, of joy to each of my friends listening today? The longing and desire of our hearts is that to You would get all the glory, all the praise!

Now and forever may You be magnified in and through our lives, wherever we are in this point of our spiritual journey, and all the way until we see You at the finish line! I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Dannah: Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth is calling you to reflect on and celebrate your freedom, fullness and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the CSB unless otherwise noted.

¹Keith & Kristyn Getty. Facing a Task Unfinished. “He Will Hold Me Fast.” (c) 2016 Getty Music Label, LLC.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.