Wading Through the Murky Waters: Navigating Relational Issues with God ❖ 226

God never wants us to respond with a negative behavior to a negative behavior. He wants us to respond from the fullness of love, from being outfitted with those really quality waders."

Grace will lead the way...

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• Honor your dream life: Keep a journal by your bed to record your dreams, as they can be a channel for God to speak to you.
• Focus on the feeling: When interpreting a dream, remember the feeling it left you with and bring that authentic feeling to God in your morning devotions.

• Invest in your spiritual outfitting: Don't use "cheap" spiritual tools to navigate relational issues. Actively seek God's wisdom, comfort, and armor to handle life's challenges with integrity.
• Trust God for justice: Follow King David's example by crying out to God for justice in difficult situations, rather than taking matters into your own hands. Withhold your emotions, hands, and words, and trust God to bring forth His perfect resolve.
• Choose love over retaliation: When immersed in "murky waters," resist the temptation to respond with negative behavior. Instead, stand firm in the fullness of God's love.
• Embrace growth opportunities: View difficult patches and seasons as a chance for personal growth and maturity that will equip you to walk in the purpose God has for you.

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Whenever you have a dream, you always want to remember the feeling... What was it? Was it good, bad, indifferent, loving, encouraging? You need to remember what it made you feel like and you bring that feeling to God when you're having your morning devotion with Him." —Kristen Wambach

Hello family, and welcome. Kristen Wambach here, ordained pastor and spiritual coach. It’s a classic Pacific Northwest summer here in Oregon, which means we’re walking through a heat wave—something we Oregonians don’t take to naturally! Wherever you are, I hope you’re finding moments of rest and enjoyment in this season.

Today, I want to talk about something many of us face: relational issues and difficult situations. These are the moments when we don’t always know how to talk to God, or when we feel helpless as circumstances unfold around us. While we may not be responsible for the environment that’s left behind, we are always responsible for how we feel and how we navigate our conversations with God about it.

I recently had a powerful dream that spoke directly to this.
Now, let’s talk a little about dream language. The Holy Spirit often ministers to us in our dreams, comforting our hearts and working in deep places that we might not give ourselves time to deal with when we’re awake.
​In my dream, I was in an odd lot store—a place that sells corporate buyouts, not always the highest quality goods. I was looking for fishing waders because, as a part of a fun family adventure, I’m going salmon fishing with my son. I’m not an avid fisherman, so part of me didn't want to spend a lot of money. My son was there, saying, "No, Mom, that's not it. That's not it." None of the waders were good enough.

Highlights

• The Metaphor of Spiritual Waders: Using a dream about fishing waders to illustrate the need to invest in our spiritual "outfitting" to navigate the difficult, or "murky," waters of life and relationships.
• Dream Language as Divine Communication: Explaining how dreams are an avenue for the Holy Spirit to speak to us, comfort us, and provide wisdom, especially when our conscious mind is at rest.
• Biblical Principles from King David: Drawing on the life of King David to demonstrate how to handle relational conflicts with integrity, trust, and a reliance on God's justice.
• Responding with Love, Not Retaliation: Highlighting the core Christian principle of not responding to negative behavior with negative behavior, but instead, choosing to operate from a place of love and spiritual strength.
• Finding Growth in Difficult Seasons: Framing difficult seasons and relational challenges not as roadblocks, but as opportunities for spiritual maturity and growth that prepare us for the dreams and desires God has placed in our hearts.

In this episode, Kristen Wambach, an ordained pastor and spiritual coach, shares a powerful life application from a recent dream. Using the metaphor of fishing waders, she illustrates the importance of being "properly outfitted" with spiritual tools to navigate the "murky waters" of relational issues and life's difficulties. She encourages listeners to honor their dreams as a form of divine communication and to bring their authentic feelings to God. Drawing on the biblical examples of King David's life, she provides practical insights on how to handle conflict with integrity, trust God for justice, and avoid retaliation. The episode concludes by emphasizing that difficult seasons are growth opportunities, preparing us to walk in the dreams and desires God has placed in our hearts.

God brought it to my attention that I needed to spend, invest in those waders because they helped me to navigate the issues of life. If you were to say the river, the seas or the water, were the issues of life, then this is a very important piece of outfitting that I need to have to walk in God's purposes and his heart." —Kristen Wambach

When I woke up, I knew the feeling of the dream was important. It was a sense that I wasn’t placing enough value on the waders that would help me “wade” through the waters of life. This was a profound, mystical Christian message for me. God was using the timeline of my season—the fishing trip—to speak to the unseen parts of my life. He was highlighting the relational difficulties I was walking through and encouraging me to invest in the spiritual equipment I needed to navigate them. He wanted me to place more value on the spiritual waders that would keep me protected and confident while standing in life’s difficult currents.

This is a powerful lesson in practical spirituality. Just as a fisherman needs quality waders to stay dry and safe in the river, we need quality spiritual tools to navigate our relationships. The faith journey podcast I host, Interviewing Jesus Podcast, is all about this kind of Christian spiritual growth. It’s a journey of understanding the Holy Spirit and having conversations with Jesus to find the divine wisdom to face our problems.

The Lord, in His faithfulness, didn't stop with the dream. Later that day, an Instagram post by Bill Johnson came across my feed, talking about King David. God’s heroes in the Bible are there to encourage and spiritually motivate us, and David’s story is a masterclass in dealing with relational issues.

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​Think about David and King Saul. Saul was meant to be his mentor, but jealousy turned him into a threat. David had every chance to harm Saul, but his core value of trusting God and not touching His anointed kept him from retaliating. This is a brilliant example of a Christian personal development lesson. He withheld his emotions, his feelings, and his hands, trusting that God would bring justice.

Then there was David as a suffering father with his rebellious son, Absalom. The pain of a family conflict is a unique agony. In this, David shows us the long-suffering heart of a parent and the need to keep our hearts constantly open to the Holy Spirit’s comfort. This is part of the healing and transformation podcast journey we explore here—not shying away from the pain, but walking through it with integrity.

Finally, in Psalm 3, David cries out to God for justice. This should be a model for our own prayer life. We cry out to God on behalf of our friends, our family, and even those who are hurting us. We don’t ask for revenge, but for the justice that God desires to bring forth—a justice that is rooted in love and produces growth and resolve. This is what it means to be spiritually brave.

• David and Saul: 1 Samuel chapters 16-31, particularly 1 Samuel 18 (Saul's jealousy begins) and 1 Samuel 24 & 26 (David spares Saul's life).
• Absalom's Rebellion: 2 Samuel chapters 13-18, particularly 2 Samuel 15 (Absalom's coup) and 2 Samuel 18 (Absalom's death).
• Psalm 3: The entire psalm was written by David during his flight from Absalom.

The Help of God
3But in the depths of my heart I truly know
that you, Yahweh, have become my Shield;
You take me and surround me with yourself. 
Your glory covers me continually.
You lift high my head. 
I have cried out to you,  Yahweh, from your holy presence. 
You send me a Father’s help.
Pause in his presence
The Song of Safety
So now I’ll lie down and sleep like a baby--
Then I’ll awake in safety, for you surround me with your glory.
Even though ten thousand dark powers  prowl around me,
I won’t be afraid.

The Secret of Strength
Rise up and help me, Yahweh! Come and save me, God!
For you will slap them in the face,
breaking the power of their words to harm me. 
For the Lord alone is my Savior. 
What a feast of favor and bliss he gives his people!
Pause in his presence
Psalms 3 The Passions Translation

Watch the Recording Live

Chapters
00:00 Navigating Life's Heat Waves
03:18 Dreams as a Language of God
11:17 Lessons from King David's Trials
22:19 Investing in Spiritual Equipment for Life's Challenges
25:57 _Intro ONLY Video no sound IJP.mp4

So let me ask you this: What murky waters are you standing in right now? Is it a betrayal, a family conflict, or gossip that makes you want to pull back and isolate yourself? God is calling us to pull up those spiritual waders, invest in them, and stand firmly. The purpose is not to get out of the murky water, but to allow Him to move on our behalf. Just like a good fisherman doesn't leave the water, we stand in it and allow God to bring forth the best results.

What would happen if we bought cheap waders for the murky waters of life? They would tear, leaving us exposed, and we might respond to negative behavior with negative behavior. We must choose to be outfitted with those high-quality waders—the love, wisdom, and strength from God that allows us to stand in the pain and respond with love, not retaliation. This is the heart of what the What Would Jesus Do podcast lesson's in our daily lives.

My prayer for you is that you trust God to bring forth justice on behalf of all parties concerned. Trust Him to bring forth love that produces growth and the dreams and desires of all. I love you so much. Thank you for letting me process these simple yet profound applications of our faith. If this episode would bless someone you know who is struggling with relational issues, please share it with them.

If this episode is a blessing to somebody you know who is struggling with relational issues, please don't hesitate to share it with them. And don't forget to leave a review and subscribe to the Interviewing Jesus Podcast for more empowering faith messages and practical spirituality!

  "Your encouragement is my fuel."
When my engine runs low, your words refuel me. Like a car running on the open road, I’m powered by your belief in me, ready to take on new challenges.

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