Thawing Out

When the world unravels, His Word remains the only anchor.

I have felt frozen this winter, and I hope that sitting down to write - even without a clear end in mind - will begin my thaw.

It could be the news cycle, the ridiculous cold weather we battled the last three months, the frenetic pace of AI in my marketing business, or simply my preoccupation with becoming a shepherd for the first time. But I’ve struggled to find anything notable to share here because things have been quiet in me spiritually.

And I’m 100% sure it’s because I am not tuned in, not because He isn’t speaking.

When God used many men of history to write His holy scripture, God knew that people for thousands of years afterwards would come to rely on those words in uncertain times, and I often think about that here in 2026.

The immature part of me says God, it would have been nice to add a few chapters about current events here in this Bible. You know, just to anchor us all a bit here as we watch the modern world unravel? Surely He could have done something like that?

But alas, there’s no exact chapter in the Bible about how to deal with men obsessed with building AI even if it strips away all our jobs, oligarchs who are wrecking the economy for their own gain, or propaganda machines twisting every story so easily that our understanding of reality is shaken.

And yet God in His infinite wisdom, knows far far better than me what I need. What you need. What we all need.

His Word is enough.

The three things that are most deeply on my mind right now:

1. The disruption of AI and how it impacts everything from my work to my clients to my children’s ability to get a career and live financially stable lives.

2. The financial disaster we’re in with our crippling debt, market manipulation, and untrustworthy characters at the top.

3. The unsteady geopolitical situation that has leaders spewing propaganda through social media like it’s air, and we’re all stewing in algorithms designed to keep us angry and hooked on whatever reality is most attractive to our ears.

Where is God in all of it? What has He already said that could help us in these situations?

The Disruption of AI

It’s so easy to get caught up in what AI can and might do. The feeling of exponential intelligence is addicting. The feeling of power.

And then the Lord speaks.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” - Isaiah 53:6

I keep sheep and I understand this passage much better now. In our natural state, we go astray. We turn away. We go our OWN way. That means the same for AI. We WILL go astray, go our own way, and turn away from God in our pursuit of AI as a species.

Any time you feel pulled by the utopia of AI, God has already spoken about our nature. It doesn’t lead to holiness. It leads to death.

That doesn’t mean AI isn’t useful. But it will not save us. Only Jesus does.

The Financial Disaster

I don’t pretend to understand the implications of bond yields or the price of gold. But most of us are feeling the pain of increasing prices alongside stagnant income. Personally? I’m in danger of losing a lifetime of savings in some poor real estate deals. I’m regularly (in business and life) forced to confront my love of money. My desire for financial safety.

“You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” - Isaiah 26:3

Peace is available to those who anchor their mind to God. To His word. To His character. The trick here is to keep a mind. Have you tried that? 😂

But that is the answer. When I start to worry, wonder, or fear the future outcomes I cannot control, I come back to this: My job is to direct my mind back to God. Just like the sheep that go astray, my mind loves to stray.

• Stray to TikTok

• Stray to AI

• Stray to plans & lists

• Stray to hustle

It’s amazing how little ACTION and DOING is involved in what God asks of us. Move your mind to Him. That’s what He asks.

Go sit with my sheep. They don’t really do much. They stand there. They eat. They nap. They chew grass. There’s not some big objective except to just… exist.

The Unsteady Geopolitical Situation

Everyone wants to read the tea leaves. Especially me. Where is this all going? Are these wars in the Middle East a signal of end times? Is it just another “here we go again” battle that we’ll continue to repeat for thousands more years?

I felt compelled to memorize this set of verses last year and it comes back to me over and over and over.

“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.” - Isaiah 50:10-11

Notice everyone here is in darkness. But there are two types of people. Those who have no light and wait and trust God, and those who decide to make their own torches.

That fire is human schemes and self-rescue. Men in darkness trying to create their own light. And God says - yep, I gave you those abilities. And also, doing it yourselves will lead to your own torment. 😰

It’s better to walk in the dark WITH God, then in the light with your own tools that He gave you, that will still lead to torment because you’re doing it without Him.

The book of Isaiah was written over 2500 years ago and just a few sentences from this ancient book speak right to the heart of what worries me.

All three of these verses I memorized a year ago, which leads me to the #1 thing I can all do in the midst of this confusing time.

Memorize scripture.

God can bring to mind what is already planted in me. But if it’s not there, it can’t be brought to mind easily. That’s my takeaway.

Turns out the point of this whole piece of writing was to remind me to do something that I know works, but easily put off.

I’m going to find a new scripture to memorize today, and if it helps you too, then that’s great!

Here it is:

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”
- Psalm 103: 13-14

חַג שָׂמֵחַ (Chag Sameach) and a blessed Easter!

xx Julie