Being Grateful!

Cultivating a thankful heart is the key to overcoming discouragement, grief, pain, or discontentment. If we develop the habit of counting our blessings then we, like Paul, can learn to be content—even joyful—in the darkest of times or most difficult of circumstances However, the psalmist in this passage reminds us that the greatest benefit of a grateful heart, and therefore the greatest motivation to a thankful spirit, is not the blessing that it brings to us but the witness it is to others. Anyone can be happy and thankful when everything is going well; but what a testimony it is when God’s people are rejoicing among the ruins of their temporal pleasures!

“Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people”~  Psalm 105:1

When a child of God is seen searching through the wreckage of shattered dreams, lost loved ones, or debilitating pain for reasons to praise their Lord it is an unparalleled proof of the power of Christ to transform and to satisfy His people. When they publicly call upon His name, making His deeds known among the masses, the gratefulness of God’s children redounds to the glory of God’s grace.

We are nowhere as able to shine for Christ as in the darkness of our own heartache and loss. In that moment we have the greatest potential to fulfill the greatest purpose of our lives — to exalt the name of our Lord Jesus.

So, no matter what your current circumstances, give thanks to the Lord, calling on the name of Christ as your joy and sufficiency. Make known His goodness among the masses.

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Let go and Let God!

All of us like to feel that we are in control of our lives. God wants to be the one in control. He does not want us to control Him. We need to just accept the circumstances & acknowledge that we are powerless to it and leave it with God to work out the details-believing that He has our best interests in mind anyway. He is better at it than anyone else! By giving a situation over to Him, we are placing it in the best hands possible. We know that God will do whatever He has planned, hence, His will be done.

We must allow God to be in control of every area of our lives. God knows where you have come from and He knows where you are going. In order for God to be in control, we first must totally surrender ourselves to Him. For some, that might be difficult, but total surrender is a process that we must go through. If we fail to yield, God will allow us to get ourselves into certain situations that are designed to teach us a lesson, but in the end, after we have gone full circle, we will come to the place that we will agree that it is best to let God be in control.

Letting go is one of the hardest things that we must learn to do. Many of us hold onto our past which keeps us from moving forward. Some of us hold onto unhealthy relationships thinking that we can’t make it without a certain person in our life. Some of us hold onto past hurts which hinders us from being free to accept the love of another person. Some of us hold onto old ideas and precepts that close us off from accepting what may be a better way. Some of us can’t let go because of our pride, but regardless of our reasons, we have to be willing to let go of it all if it is in the way of God being our first priority. God considers anything that we hold onto too tightly as competition and He has told us that we are not to have any other gods before Him. Anything that we can’t let go of becomes an idol to us and God will not allow that to continue to exist.

We must come to the place in our lives that we place everything that we love and hold dear to us into the hands of God and trust Him with it. We must have faith in God and not wonder if God will take care of us. We all need to get to that point where we are willing to obey and trust God no matter what the cost. Let go and let God take control of your life so that you can enjoy His blessings and reach the destiny that He has planned for you.

Be strong and courageous!

We can let fear dominate our lives or we can choose to be strong and courageous. I say we can “choose” but if you notice in today’s verse it is a command? Why would God do that? Why would He command us to be strong and courageous? Because we NEED it and He is WORTHY of it! However, we do have options. We can let fear grip our heart and influence our decisions. We can rationalize why we can’t be strong or courageous. We can justify why we should be discouraged and drown in self-pity and yet what does God command? “Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Today, decide to obey the Lord. Be strong and courageous in all you face today.

 “This is my command–be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Joshua was about to lead a vast number of wilderness wanderers into the Land of Promise. But he would have to be strong and courageous. And he would have to remember that God would never leave him or forsake him. We have to remember that too. We know in our heads that God will never leave us or forsake us, but when a crisis hits, we often feel like He already has.

In moments of confusion or pain, we can get really disoriented The God who seemed like He was on our side yesterday suddenly seems like He doesn’t even know our names. In those times of confusion, we need to insist to ourselves what we know to be true: that He hasn’t left and He isn’t going to. He is still on our side.

Like Joshua, we face big moments of decision, times when we have to put our faith on the line and be strong and courageous. We may fear the outcome, but we don’t have to. Even if the outcome isn’t what we expected, God will be with us in the surprise or disappointment. But He will also be with us in many victories. Whatever we have to walk through, He is there.

Stake everything on that, no matter how present or absent He seems to be. Trust Him even when you can’t sense Him. He made a binding promise to be with you. And He never breaks a promise.

Trusting God!

 

Do you have a difficult time trusting God? Is there an area of your life that you need to entrust to the Lord? Let me give you a few reasons why you can trust God! You can know that God will never fail you!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”~~ Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust carries the message to “rely on someone for security”. Honestly, I can’t come up with anyone better than God to rely on! I know that my life is secure in His hands. I know that He will never fail me!

Have you ever leaned on your human understanding more than the wisdom of God? If you have, you’re in good company. We all tend to lean on our own understanding at times! But the encouraging part is that we don’t have to. We can trust God! We can lean on Him and know that He will always come through.

A simple truth to cling to is this, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).” God’s ways are higher! We can’t begin to comprehend what God is doing in our lives, but we can trust that He will do all things well. When we acknowledge God in all our ways, He truly will take away all the obstacles that we face in life. He will clear a path before us, so that we can walk uprightly in His plan for us!

Give your plans to God!

A Safe Harbor is Jesus

The thing is… God WILL determine our steps. Whether we ask Him to or not. He loves us and wants what’s best for us. I’d much rather work with Him than against Him along the way! I’d much rather learn the easy way than the hard way about just what it is and where it is that He desires to take me. That being said, remember that God knows your heart. He often will use and direct you to things in which you are gifted at or where your natural personality leans. He just may “tweak” how you get there! “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” ~~Proverbs 16:9

As you meditate upon the desires of your heart you come up with certain plans and ambitions for your life. While these plans do not always result in the perfect plan for your life, you must…

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Be an Eagle!

A Safe Harbor is Jesus

When you are sitting in the storm, when you have been praying and feeling as though your prayers are hitting the ceiling, don’t give up! I can’t stress this enough! DO NOT GIVE UP! God has a way of teaching us things we need to learn during that storms and as hard as it may be to endure the storm, it is the faith we have, the praise we give, the trust in God which we rely on that helps to get us through that storm and I can promise you – that storm will end and if you continue to endure as God would have you endure it, you are becoming more than a conqueror. You become stronger through Christ who strengthens us. We are weak but He is strong. Then the next time that storm rolls around you now are stronger, wiser and more able to see that…

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God’s Faithfulness

A Safe Harbor is Jesus

This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindness indeed never ceases, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21-23)

Whenever we are facing difficult circumstances, and wonder, “Where is God?” one of the first things we should do is to look in the rearview mirror of our lives. What we will see will undoubtedly give us strength for today and hope for tomorrow. What we will see is God’s faithfulness throughout our lives. We will see how He has loved us, redeemed us, forgiven us, and given us new and eternal life (see 1 John 2:25, 5:11). We will see how He has brought us through past struggles, provided for our needs, woke us up this morning, and how He continues to cover us with His love throughout the day.

As you think about all that you’re going…

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Consider the lilies….

A Safe Harbor is Jesus

Matthew 6:28–29
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

You may think that you must work very hard to provide for yourself and get ahead in life. But God wants you to consider the lilies of the field—they do nothing. They toil not, spin not and struggle not. Yet, they grow and are clothed by God while simply resting and basking in the sunshine of God’s love! And when God clothes them, they look even more glorious than King Solomon, the richest king who ever lived.

Like the lilies of the field, God wants you to let Him take care of providing for your material needs, instead of you striving to do it yourself. When you…

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Are You Really Enjoying Life?

A Safe Harbor is Jesus

I was led to this powerful message for everyone to really mediate on about If you are really enjoying Life. Seriously, take a moment right now, think, and honestly answer this question, are you enjoying your life? I am not asking you if everything is perfect in your life, since that will never be the case. We will always have things that we are facing, battles to fight, challenges to overcome, that is simply part of living in this sin-filled and fallen world we are passing through. But today I want you to take some time and reflect and tell me whether you are enjoying your life or not.

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” ~ John 10:10

If the Lord asked you if are you enjoying your life? How would you answer Him. Without any hesitation I would tell the Lord that yes, I was really enjoying my…

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Trusting God alone to get you safely across!

This message is about trusting God and I hope and pray it touches your heart in such a powerful way that you keep telling yourself that, You are children of the Promise and NOTHING and I mean NOTHING can change that or destroy the purpose God has for your life. I want to bring  a message of truth for those struggling in this lost and perishing world. If you belong to Jesus Christ, you must stop acting as the world does every time a crisis happens in your life. Don’t let a little shaking of the ground or the darkness of the storm around you cause you to take your eyes off the One who ransomed your life for all eternity! Never forget that your life was redeemed by the righteous blood of Jesus and he is not ever going to let you lose this fight!

It takes true faith to trust that God is actually going to work your struggles out for your good. God never fails and He is faithful but the silence can be tormenting as you wait on His promises to be fulfilled. The enemy will taunt you to make you doubt God’s faithfulness, but the truth is that he is a defeated foe whose only weapon is his lies. The purpose and plan of God for your life have been settled long before you were created. Every single detail was known by God and He provided a way through every one of them. All it takes is for us to keep our eyes on Him and trust Him, but so often we forget what He has done for us in the past. 

Each trial brings fear and anxious thoughts. The devil always has a way to make you see the worst of each situation. For that reason, you are to take captive every thought and line them up to be obedient to the teachings of Christ. He has told us that He can rescue us from any situation. God’s has already planned in advance to supply the power that is needed for His people to climb the hills and survive the valleys in this life. There is not a single struggle you endure that He has not seen long before the world was created. Why then do we still worry that God is not going to show up in time to help us? Do we actually believe that the Creator of this world and everything in it is going to forget a single detail of our lives? Our hope is secure and the battle is won in every area of our lives. All that we must do is surrender our weaknesses to the one who can work them all out for our good. It means waiting and trusting while the battle rages on knowing that we are victors. There is no such thing as a defeated Christian! Stop carrying around burdens that are not yours. Worry is a tool that the enemy uses to deflect the truth from believers. He can’t steal your joy so don’t just hand it over to him when problems arise.