FINDING STRENGTH IN THE LONELY PLACES!

Whatever is overwhelming you in your life right now has a purpose to bring you closer to God. The winds of trouble and the storms of your life must all submit to the will of God for you. Our battle will never be stronger than the refuge and strength of your God! The bible tells us, “Weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning”. (Psalm 30:5)  That means that every painful struggle has a timing for it to end.  And it is only then that you will understand the power of  God whose love for you never failed.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life ~ Psalm 138:7

All of the battles that you face as a believer are fought on holy ground because the power of God is with you. You are in the company of the army of heavenly forces who know well how to deal with the enemy. You are never left to fight alone. As David understood that God was giving him his victory, so must you know that you are a conqueror against all that comes against you. You must never let your situation cause you to be anxious. Worry is nothing but the whispers of lies from a defeated enemy! Satan wants you to make you feel alone and hopeless so that he can get a foothold into your mind. Don’t give him access.

The truth is all the force that you need to defeat your feelings of hopelessness. Your financial struggles, marriage problems, health issues, addictions or heartaches are all under the power of a Sovereign God who knows how to take you safely through them. Your weaknesses are not hidden from the eye of an omniscient God who offers you his strength when you have none of your own. He is never limited by the scope of your impossible situation. His power is not confined to boundaries and it supersedes the scientific laws of this world. Most importantly, your painful struggle was seen by God long before you were born and he prepared a way to take you to victory. He has not forgotten you now and he never will.  

It is the lonely places that put you next to the heart of your God. For it is when you have nowhere else to turn that you realize that God’s power was all that you ever needed. Jesus paid the price so that those who believed would be made more than a conqueror in all the battles of this world. 

Never surrender your joy no matter how bad the problems in your life seem. Though you may not understand it now, Christ is working it all out to fit into the perfect plan that he ordained for your life. The One who keeps all your tears in a bottle will not let you drown in despair. There is nothing you must face that will not be measured and timed by God’s own hand.   

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God is Faithful even in Delayed Understand!

There are seasons in the lives of us all when it is not easy to believe that God is faithful. When our eyes are full of tears, our ears are distracted by the noise of the world, we feel we can no longer hear the sweet voice of our Savior calling out to us, and we can no longer trace His sovereign hand at work through the events of our days. When life doesn’t turn out quite like we plan and when things go array, it is human nature to ask why. We can take solace in Christ’s answer to Peter and accept it as an answer to our own why’s. We may not understand now what is happening but there will come a time when it will all be revealed.

 “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” John 13:7    

At times when this has happened our mind is left confused and full of questions. We had sought to be faithful to God… why would he allow this (insert trial here) to happen? What we must remember at these times is that God is faithful. His Word is true. In every relationship with His Children, God has been faithful. No one ever trusted Him in vain. We need that reminder, which is why it is so important to remind ourselves of the God revealed in Scripture. His faithfulness is part of His character. We can have confidence in Him, whether we understand our current situation or not. 

God’s will is not always understood in the moment, but in retrospect it becomes clear. This is the design of the faith walk: remain faithful today, even though understanding may not come until tomorrow. Delays in the comprehension of circumstances seem like a divine detour, but it is a fruitful path for the Lord to show Himself trustworthy and wise.

Therefore, stand today in the security of your Savior Jesus, as He is your rock and reassurance. Understanding may not come until after your window of obedience. His love is not delayed, only your ability to totally comprehend His grander plan in the larger landscape of life. God’s delays are designed to accelerate your love for and trust in Jesus.

So ask yourself this question. Where do I need to remain faithful in the middle of a season of delayed understanding?

Let us not lose Heart in doing Good!

This is definitely a great promise full of hope and encouragement!  Don’t give up, whatever the need is, Our God is still on the throne and He is ever interceding to the Father for His children. It’s not our time but in His time. Press on towards the mark of your high calling and we will see glorious results in due time. Our God is a great big wonderful God and He is always faithful.

“And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.” ~ Galatians 6:9

I feel patience is something that almost everyone struggles with. Patience is defined in the dictionary, as the will or ability to wait or endure, without complaint. We have all heard the story about the patience of Job, where Satan inflicted him with severe hardships, to test his faith in God, and try to turn him against God. Job suffered in a way that would have caused almost anyone to give in, and say, enough is enough, but Job had enough faith in God to endure the pain and suffering, and not give in. The reward Job received for all of his pain and suffering, was that he was made even more prosperous than he had been before. 

If we are following God’s will for your life, He will in turn, reward you with His blessings in His own time. We must be patient in expecting these blessings, and not get discouraged, if we don’t see an instant result. God allows us to grow and adapt to His plan, and when we are prepared He makes them become realities. God wants us to have all the good things in life, and be successful as long as our priorities are the same as His. Our focus must be on doing God s will, and doing it to the best of our abilities. Then, we have to be patient, and wait for God to work in our lives. If we do everything in the way God instructs us, He will also reward us with His blessings, in His own time.

Let the Lord be your Guide!

God is looking for us to put our hope and trust in Him today, ALL day long, not just tomorrow or when we are in need of Him. He’s challenging us to see all the moments of our lives as being filled with meaning. Each moment is filled with the presence of God, but sometimes we are so stuck on vision and dreams that we skim right by them. As a result, I encourage you to start your days differently. Start each day by praying, asking God to give you a clear understanding of each moment. It’s okay to still plan and dream about the future, of course, but concentrate more on each moment, as well!

“Show me the right path O Lord, point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me. for you are the God who saves me, All day long I put my hope in you.” Psalm 25:4-5

God is the only one who can guide us. We must seek His guidance and direction in all things. I love how David writes show me the right path. First off he is saying show me Your ways God. Another words when we need guidance in our lives we should say God show me Your way in how I should approach this. Too often we we want to take our approach to how we should handle a situation and then want God to fix our mess. Doesn’t that just seem a little backwards? Now granted we may get in situations and need His help, but first and foremost we need to be seeking His guidance, His directions, and as David wrote shew me thy ways O Lord.

Friends as born-again believers we must totally rely on God to guide us. For this guidance we need to be lead by His Word which is the truth just as David wrote lead me by your truth, and  seeking His guidance in our lives and seeking His will for our lives. I do love how David wrote in verse 5 all day long I put my hope in you. Another words friends when you are approaching big decisions seek God’s face and if it takes all day for a response wait. Don’t just give God 5 minutes or a few seconds, wait till you hear from God. 

Let me encourage you to let the Lord be your guide in all that you do. He will never lead you astray and will always be with you every step of the way. Be encouraged to know even when the journey gets rough that He will provide comfort even in those times. In fact I love how the Apostle Paul put it the joy we can even find in our suffering( Colossians 1:24 ). Not that we look forward to getting hurt, but that we endure for Christ’s sake. This pain is for God’s glory despite how difficult it may seem, it works for our good. Once again my brothers and sisters be encouraged and seek God for His guidance.

Trusting and Having Confidence in the Lord!

This message is for everyone to reflect on Trusting and Having Confidence in the Lord! So how does it work when the pain is overwhelming? As a follower of Christ, you have access to the resources and the strength of God which is the water for your life. Believe He will hold you! Ask Him to increase your trust because storms always make us question our trust. Ask for a tenacity of faith!! He will nourish you in the hottest drought of your life.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

How do you do this you might ask?  Read His promises. Write this one out on a few post-it notes and put it on your bathroom mirror, in your day timer, or on the dashboard of your car. Allow music that praises God to wash over your soul. Find a friend to pray with over the phone whenever you feel like the waves will overwhelm you. Or pray alone…God hears you! Put your roots down. Cling to Jesus. He is the one who dispels fear when the heat comes. He can be trusted to hold you steady as you wade through your storm.

But Sunday faith won’t do it… this is faith in a God who walks beside you step by step by step. He promises that you will actually come out the other side, not shriveled and dead as you might think now, but green and with something to offer to others. I know you can hardly believe that at the moment but it’s true. His Holy Spirit will guide you. Expect it!

He will Place you on a Firm Foundation!

A FIRM foundation; that is what we need to stand in this life. A foundation built on the WORD, prayer and our HOPE in the future in which Christ has written in the Word. Our future is firm in HOPE. It is as sure as His promises; promises of heaven, eternal life with Him, forgiveness, and a FIRM foundation. Our future is as sure as His Word. Do you believe this? Do you believe His promises? Then make a firm stand!! He will NEVER let you down!

 “…. he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11 

 It is easy to get tired. You know, just plain worn out. Life seems to come at us so hard. There is never enough time to get everything we need done. Is it a wonder that we feel like we live in a pressure cooker? Jesus invited all of us who are under a heavy burden to come to Him. He promised that He would give us rest. Peter heard Him say it! 

And now Peter writes to us promising that this same Jesus will restore, support and strengthen us. Peter promises us that Jesus will place us on a firm foundation because all power belongs to Him. Today, let this same Jesus comfort you. Let Him come into your situation and give you support and strength. Lean on Him. Share with Him. Give Him all your burdens. Remember, “All power belongs to Him forever!”

Visualize yourself coming to Jesus all worn out, tired and weary. You are burdened and about ready to give up. And then you sense empathy coming from Jesus. He hears you. He senses your need. He looks at you with compassion and you begin to feel your burdens start to lift. Faith begins to fill your brain and hope follows. Soon joy begins to replace your mood and God places you on a firm foundation. You affirm, “God restores, supports and strengthens me.”

 

 

Pray about everything! No prayer is too large or small for OUR GOD!

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

God is telling us not to freak out about anything. Anything! Can you think of anything that does not fit into this category? Instead of worrying—pray—about everything!

What God is promising in these verses is this: If, when you are confronted with difficult things, you will pray rather than worry, God will give you peace. The stress will lift. The pressure will be broken.

Perhaps you are so filled with anxiety and stress that you are working on an ulcer right now. You don’t sleep like you should. Your anxieties have robbed you of the quality of life God wants you to have. God wants you free from your burdens. Take them to Him today, and every day, and see how those burdens are lifted.

The Faith of Abraham!

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Romans 4:18

Abraham believed that God could, simply with a word, make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw with his eyes, or focusing on what he couldn’t do, but on what God said He would do.

Has there been a situation in your life where you have had an earthly hope for something to happen? It is time to look beyond an earthly hope and believe in a heavenly one. Believe in God’s promise, even if it seems almost impossible in the natural. Do not focus on what is seen with the eyes of the flesh, but rather, set your eyes on the eternal promises of God. Be like Abraham, who against all hope, believed in hope and received, inherited the promise of God. Keep hoping against hope, believe in God’s word, and that promise of God for you will be a reality, it will be, in God, the substance of things hoped for.

Having Hope when your Afraid!

When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” ~ John 6:19-20

 

In this passage we read where the disciples, fresh from Jesus feeding the five thousand, toiled away in a terrific storm. They feared for their safety and were frightened by a ghostlike figure walking on the water toward them. They did not recognize their Master–the One who calms the seas. In a similar way, just after we encounter a problem, we can easily forget a prior act of God’s favor. Yet, faith in Christ’s work is meant to keep fear at bay. He who provides in our need can see us through uncertain times.

 

Sometimes our Savior tests our trust in Him. He allows us to struggle in our work. He leads us to labor hard for His sake, even as we make minimal progress. Our work is not an end in itself, but a means to grow our faith in Jesus and learn how to rest in His peaceful presence. Yes, those we work with need our support and our example of looking to the Lord during economic storms. If our jobs were easy, we might become proud and self sufficient. So in hard times, hope in God. 

He is our solid rock that cannot be moved by temptation or manipulation. We rest in the cleft of the Rock of Ages–Almighty God. He shelters us in the storms of life. Hope in Him gets us through scary situations. Fear fades in the face of faith. 

Do you find yourself in the middle of a crisis of faith? Has a health issue rocked your world? Has someone else’s decisions destroyed your peace? Whatever worries you have, Christ can cure. He walks toward you to calm your heart in crummy circumstances. Be hopeful in Him and fear will finally run its course. The same Holy Spirit that interceded on your behalf in past prayers, intercedes for you now. Be hopeful for your Creator can cease the storm. Rest in and with Him!

 

 

He lifted me out of the pit of Despair!

Do you feel like you are in a pit today? That pit can be frustration or disappointment or a feeling of discouragement, despair, or hopelessness. And maybe you can’t see a way out, but you’ve got to know that God is still with you, and He will make a way where there seems to be no way.

“He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on the solid ground and steadied me as I walked along” ~ Psalm 40:2.

Remember, as a born-again believer God will never waste anything you go through in life. If you’ll keep the right attitude, He’ll turn that situation around for your good. God wants to use that situation to do a work in you. He’ll take that evil and turn it around for your good. You may be uncomfortable at times, but you’ve got to know you are growing, and God is building your character.

Today, make the decision to shake off any negative, self-defeating mindsets. Choose to cooperate with God. Trust that He is preparing you for promotion. As you keep an attitude of faith, expectancy, and thanksgiving, He will lift you up and set you on the solid path of victory He has in store for you!