Living in Light of Redemption with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
In this episode of the Journeywomen podcast we’re kicking off our fall series: living in light of redemption! So you’ll know a little more about what this season will look like, over the next ten episodes we’ll discuss how redemption applies to a variety of topics, like comparison, anxiety and depression, body image, perfectionism, sexuality, anger, control, and more. We’ll do our best to uncover how redemption impacts each one of these topics and how we can walk in the freedom that we’ve received in Christ as we anxiously await his return. Today Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and I hone in on how the little pieces of our story nestle themselves in the context of the greater story of redemption.
Nancy Wolgemuth has touched the lives of millions of women through Revive Our Hearts and the True Woman movement, calling them to heart revival and biblical womanhood. Her love for Christ and His Word is infectious, and permeates her outreach. Her books have sold more than three million copies and are reaching the hearts of women around the world. Nancy and her husband, Robert, live in Michigan.
Can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do?
What is redemption?
What is the overarching, eternal, often unseen Story that God is writing in this broken, fallen world?
How has God been redeeming the stories of his people throughout all of history? As Christ-followers, where do we fit into that Story? How does the gospel redeem our stories?
How should redemption change how we think about ourselves and our identity?
How does the reality that we are redeemed offer us hope in the struggles that we face on this side of heaven? How does redemption impact our ongoing struggle with sin and difficulty?
In Romans 8:19-23 Paul talks about waiting for the redemption of our bodies, but we are already redeemed by the blood of Christ. What does that mean?
How does redemption impact our daily lives and what practices will help us remember our redemption?
How is God weaving together the messy parts of our stories to bring glory to his name?
What is the importance of living in light of redemption and sharing how God is redeeming our stories?
THREE QUESTIONS I ASK EVERY GUEST
What 3 resources would you recommend for someone who wants to grow in their understanding of redemption?
What are your 3 simple joys?
Who has had the greatest impact on your own journey with Jesus?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“What can I do to encourage younger women and to pass the baton?”
“We think of redemption as something that happened to us when we got saved. A lot of times we don’t realize that redemption is a part of our lives from eternity past to eternity future. It’s a never ending process until we see Jesus. It’s something we need afresh every day of our lives. He not only redeemed us, but he is redeeming us.”
“The whole concept implies that there is something we need to be redeemed from. It starts with being needy, with being desperate, with being in trouble. The word has to do with an action God takes on our behalf to rescue us, to save us from sin, evil, error, from ourselves. It’s buying us back. God pays what is needed to get us rescued from whatever has taken us captive that he wants to set us free from.”
“He created humans to love him, to walk with him, to know him. Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s rule and so God set in motion a plan he had designed in eternity past. Knowing they would sin, knowing we would sin, he set in motion a plan to redeem them from their lostness, to redeem them from captivity.”
“We are part of a story that is on a continuum.”
“If we could step back and see this continuum as God sees it. It’s not about me and this day or even my lifetime. My life fits into a big, broad tapestry of history (past, present, and future) that is this whole story that God is writing.”
“God is writing this one great big long story. Ruth’s life fits into. Mary and Joseph’s lives fit into it. Esther’s life fits into it. Paul’s life fits into it.”
“He is a redeeming God who is making all things new. So we can also become instruments of redemption in the great storyline that he is writing from one generation to the next.”
“As God is redeeming us, it’s not just about us and our story. It’s about a great, big, huge story of redemption that God is writing through all of the ages and we get to be a part of that.”
“There is no crown without the cross. There is no glory without the pain.”
“God actually uses the pain and the problems and the failures of mine and others to accomplish his purposes in me.”
“In the process of tripping and falling and weeping in the closet the beauty comes, the ashes are turned to beauty. It also makes us a safe place and a compassionate place for others to come and find grace.”
“When you look at the redemptive story that God is writing, it gives us perspective for what we are experiencing right now. It’s gives us context. It says that my struggles, my problems, my failures, my sin, my difficulties… none of it is purposeless. None of it is random. None of it is chance. It’s all purposeful. It’s ordained for me, for my life, by a God who is good, wise, loving, who knows what he is doing, and a God who is on his throne.”
“We must learn to counsel our hearts according to what is true.”
“There is grace for this moment. My pressures, my problems become opportunities to cast myself helplessly, hopelessly on Christ and to counsel my heart according to what truth says in God’s word.”
“God has grace for toddler years.”
“If you only let into your life what you think you can manage, you will never experience the fullness of God’s redeeming grace.”
“No matter what season of life we are in, God creates things in our story that make us conscious that we need him. We need to be redeemed.”
“God is using this season and the sacrifices of it to redeem you and to make you cast yourself upon the mercy and the strength of Christ.”
“Weakness is a means to tap into his grace.”
“God brings people and circumstances into my life so I can realize how much I need him.”
“God is a redeeming God who is making all things new.”
“No one should have to have their own story written and feel alone in that story.”
“Christ is a redeemer.”
RESOURCES
You Can Trust God to Write Your Story by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth & Robert Wolgemuth
Commentary on Ruth by John Piper
The book of Ruth
Book of Ruth on Revive Our Hearts
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Ruth
Isaiah 40
2 Corinthians 12:9-11
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
Psalm 42:11
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What is redemption?
What does God’s story of redemption look like over all of history?
What helps you remember God’s redeeming power in your own life?
How does the reality of redemption offer you hope in the current struggles you are facing?
Read 2 Corinthians 4:17-18. What is the hope we have?
What are you going to do or implement as a result of what you’ve learned this week?
SCRIPTURE MEMORY
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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