Someday we’ll Better Understand the Temporary Painful Episodes in our Lives!

We often see difficult circumstances through a narrow lens that doesn’t let in all the light or the complete image. We often have tunnel vision that robs us of the entire picture that surrounds us. When I think of suffering, pain, tragedy and loss, I try to remind myself that what I can understand is entirely limited by the mere fact of my humanity. I’m not God, I don’t know all, cannot see all, cannot understand all that is involved in every situation, but I must try to allow God to be God, and trust in His decisions and oversight. Have a wonderful day as you remain in His presence. 

 “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity, All that I know is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything complete, just as God knows me complete.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

When we trust God to bring a good ending to the story, even while the portion we see looks very grim, when all is said and done we will better understand the temporary painful episodes in our lives.

Life can deliver us very painful blows, striking us so hard that we fall to our knees. Afflictions of all sorts and sizes can disable us, cripple us, and make us feel very small compared to our trying circumstances.

When the dark night of trials and tribulations surround us, when depression crushes us with its mountainous weight, it is then that we must look to God, perhaps even in anger and frustration, and ask for His intervention in our lives and in our terrible circumstances. Perhaps our frustration is with God, the answer is still to go to Him, tell Him how we feel, and pour the pain of our lives into His hands. Even that is an act of faith that I believe God will honor.

Our lives are very short on this earth, and sometimes God trusts us with pain and misery, with loss and separation of the things we love and cherish. The Lord may not give us good answers to the losses we feel deep in our hearts, but I think, if we will look up, if we will cling to a shred of hope, we can get through today, and perhaps tomorrow as well.

God gives us our daily bread, and it is day by day that we must carry our burdens and face our hardships trusting that each day His grace and mercy will pull us through.

You may be facing the challenge of your life right now, and despair may be knocking on your door, you may be so angry at God that you would rather curse, than bless His name. This is called “being human”, and our fellowship of suffering is what brings us together.

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God is Bigger than your Problems and Bigger than Fear!

Fear always presents itself much bigger than it really is. It’s always the worst-case scenario. It always tries to get you worried, anxious, uptight and panicked. Fear’s goal is to separate you from God by trying to get you to doubt His Word. Have a wonderful day as you remain in the presence of the Lord.

 “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

 

So when the spirit of fear comes, recognize that it has no power unless you give it power. Don’t give it power by speaking what fear speaks. Don’t give it power by meditating on it. Instead, let the power of the Word of God rise up within you. Declare what God says; declare that God has given you all authority in heaven and earth. Declare that no weapon formed against you shall prosper.

 

Remember, no matter how big fear presents itself, it’s no match for the power of Almighty God. When you yield yourself to Him, you tap into His power. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. God is bigger than your problems and bigger than fear. Let faith rise up in your heart because faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, we thank you that You are much bigger than any of our problems. You are bigger than all our fears and foes. Enable us to remember that your grace abounds to us and at all times. Thank you, Jesus. Amen and Amen.

All Things are Possible to those who Believe!

Good morning everyone I was led to the message for everyone to reflect on. God has promised us that He would withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly before Him. This requires that you and I walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. As we walk by faith, we gather the confidence that God is, indeed, with us because our carnal mind is being destroyed. The carnal mind is dominated by thoughts of condemnation and guilt, which tend to isolate the believer from experiencing the presence of God. When we feel separated from God’s presence, it will greatly diminish our confidence to believe God to carry out His Word on our behalf. Consequently, our lack of confidence will give place to discouragement and unbelief. Have a wonderful day remembering all things are possible to those who believe.

Today, you may be facing what looks like impossible situations in the physical as well in the spirit. However, you don’t have to struggle with a lack of confidence and assume that you’re always going to have to live with limitations that seem to hold you back in your walk. The Apostle John tells us in his epistle, if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart.

As a born-again believer God lives in your heart through the Holy Spirit, so God is with you. If you don’t have the confidence that God is with you, and you tend to assume that things are never going to change for the better, then you must step out in faith and ignore your feelings. Feelings will deceive us into believing that the Lord isn’t with us, and if we fall prey to the feelings of our flesh nature, we will begin to believe that God isn’t with us when, in reality, He is.

If we believe anything that is contrary to God’s Word, we are acting in unbelief. If you’re faced with situations that seem to be insurmountable, then align your heart with God’s promises from His Word in obedience and watch the power of God destroy the weaknesses of the flesh.

Once you overcome the feelings and step out in faith, you will realize that God was with you all along. However, Satan was preventing you from knowing it through the veil of your flesh nature. Go beyond the veil, enter into the Holy Place, and see the salvation of the Lord today. This is your day to seize what God has promised, but Satan has been prevented from occurring in your life and on your behalf. Remember All things are possible to those who believe.

You’re Not Alone!

Ever feel like God is a million miles away? The truth is, He’s not. Whatever struggle you’re going through, you can rest assured you’re not alone. You have God in your corner. But you’re not the only one who has ever wondered where God was during a struggle. On the very first Easter morning, right after Jesus’ Crucifixion, the disciples wondered the same thing. Have a wonderful remain in His presence knowing you’re never alone. Love you all in Christ.

You’re Not Alone!

“Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!” Luke 24:31

Imagine what that experience was like for these disciples. The guy they thought was God was crucified and dead. Then they hear He’s been resurrected, but they don’t believe it. Then a stranger walks along the road with them, eats with them, and suddenly they realize that it’s God himself! And then He disappears. The disciples couldn’t see Jesus in their grief. They needed God to show Himself to them.

You do, too. I don’t know what you’ve lost this year — whether it’s a loved one, your health, your job, a relationship, or a really big deal. But, if you’ve had a loss like that, you may have missed the fact that God has walked through the entire experience with you. You were never, ever alone during that time. You couldn’t see Him, but he was there.

Let Him Carry the Load!

Good Morning everyone I was led to this message about allowing God to carry the load. We have all experienced situations that seemed impossible to handle at the time. It may have been a financial challenge or a bad report from the doctor. When things seem hopeless, and you feel you are at your worst, that is the time to turn to God and seek Him with everything you have. You may feel that you are alone in your circumstances, but God is a very present help in times of trouble. Have a wonderful day everyone and share the love.

Although it would be great if the Lord would perform some sort of magical transformation of the tough circumstances you and I face, that just isn’t reality. However, the Word of God is your way out of any situation. Because God’s Word is infallible and contains burden-removing, yoke-destroying power, when you can meditate on it, and speak it, you will see changes in your life. While the facts about your situation may look bleak, the truth found in God’s Word brings light, hope, and deliverance. 

You can’t handle life’s challenges alone, and God doesn’t want you to. He loves you, and as long as you believe this in your heart, you have access to His divine intervention. Don’t allow the devil to convince you that God doesn’t love you or won’t help you. The enemy wants to steal your confidence in God. He knows that if he can cause you to feel isolated from God’s love, you will lose hope, and your life will become a battleground of chaos and destruction. 

What I want you to grasp is the fact that Satan wants to influence how you feel. When you allow the pressures of life to influence your emotions in a negative way, you will most likely make decisions and take actions that will keep you stuck in your present situation. Because of this, it is important that you give more attention to the Word than you do to what is going on around you. Get in the Bible and meditate on the Scriptures that speak to your situation. Allow your feelings to be governed and controlled by the Word so your decisions and actions can lead you in the right direction. In life, you will experience good and bad moments.

God is our Comforter, Sustainer, and Lord!

 

Good morning everyone I was led to this message about how God is our comforter, sustainer, and Lord. Only His gracious presence and tender blessings can bring consolation and comfort to our restless and discouraged souls. So let’s turn to Him, honestly confessing both our sins and our sorrows. Let’s ask Him to take our anxiety away and restore to us the passion, the joy, and the confidence of our salvation. Have a wonderful day in His presence.

“When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.” ~ Psalm 94:19

God created us for peace and joy. But doubt is a reality we all face. Uncertainly, apprehension, distrust and confusion are part of our everyday life. None of us are unscathed. Life is full of uncertainty , but God has made us resilient. His presence and power gives us the comfort and strength we need to bounce back from doubt and painful emotions. The Psalmist says it plainly. When doubt fills our mind, God’s comfort gives us renewed hope and cheer. Today, come to God. Lean on Him. Tell Him your concerns, worries, fears and nagging doubts. Pour your heart out to Him. He cares and He will comfort you. He will bring you back to hope and joy.

If you’re confused, and are filled with doubt, remember He will never let you go – ever! I would ask you to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, lean not on your own understanding. He works through others in your predicament whom He will send to assist you, He will give a vision or a Word to another which will guide you, He will speak into your heart and guide you in that way – He will lead you – rest assured! He is not a God of disorder, He is a God who has those who love Him with all their heart and have enough faith and trust in Him that He will do what He has promised in His Word, close to His heart and in His mighty hand! Don’t give up – ever!

Come to God today with all your doubts, fears and concerns. See your self before Him. Does He care? Will He make a difference? Sense the doubt in your heart. But in your mind, come closer to Christ. See His face, See His nail scarred hands. Sense His heart full of love for you. Give Him your doubts and misgivings. Today, know deep in your heart that Christ is alive and He wants to fill you with all the hope and joy you can hold.

You matter to God!

You matter! You matter to God. Not what you have or not what you do. Not your color or not your race. Not your education or not your excellence. Not your experience or not your skills. All these are nothing to God; but, YOU my friends! You matter to God.

Like a rebellious child, we all rejected God’s command and ignore his mercy. We all fall short of Gods grace. We became his enemies. But, even though he knows we don’t deserve it He sent a lamb (his son JESUS) to bear our sins and die for our sins. You may wonder, “Why he did that? Do I deserve it?” Absolutely No! But it is a soul-searching question. In fact, we don’t get what we deserve. But we get so much more. The love of God was visibly demonstrated in his son Jesus. He sent His own Son to die on a cross. A cross that was the most excruciating and painful death, which Jesus did not deserve, the death was meant to be ours. Why he did that? because He wants us not to be lost. He wants every one to be saved.

You may not matter to any one but you matter to God. You may think that you do not matter but you matter to God. I love what Howard Thurman; the great theologian once said, “With God, there are no nobodies.” That is absolutely true. You matter to God because He created you in his likeness and image. Yes, you are sinful, not perfect; messed up here and there … deserve judgment. But you see, when we sin we usually think God hates us and there is nothing we can do to amend the situation. Some of us have done serious things that we do not think God can ever forgive us. But that is not true! The scripture says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). All you need to do is confess, repent and change your way, your life and your old thinking. All you need is having a changed heart and a renewed perspective through Jesus Christ.

Friend, you matter to God. He loves you so much. You matter not because you are a good person. You matter not because you deserve. You matter because he created YOU in his image and he doesn’t want you to be lost forever. God offered his son as an expression of just how much you matter to him. He offered his son, as a way to salvation just to show you how much he loves you. Don’t think you deserve it, but accept the invitation with humility and reverence. He loves you more than you can ever love yourself, or anyone else for that matter. He came and shed His precious blood to bear every infirmity, every fear and every lonely emotion that beckons you. He came so that your tears would be wiped away and has a right relationship with him, others and yourself. God does not coerce men and women. He does not manipulate His creation like objects; He deals with men and women as persons. Why? because we all matter to him. He wants you to know that. He desires to have fellowship with you. He invites you to his love and fellowship. Have you accepted his invitation?

“Here I am! says the Lord, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 Jesus Christ standing at the door of your heart. Invite Him in; He is waiting for you to receive Him into your heart and life. When you receive Christ into your life you become a child of God, “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

Accept God’s invitation today and receive his forgiveness that is only found in Jesus Christ. God loves you. He wants to bless your life and make it full and complete. And He wants to give you a life which will last forever, even after physical death. Accept his invitation today, because you personally matter to him.

So you messed up….

What do you do when you messed up? You just give it up and leave?  Or you try to cover up and pretend that everything is alright? Or you keep on blaming yourself or some body else over and over again and accept that you are not going to put yourself up again and shine? What do you do when you think you really messed up big time? Allow me to share a truth from the word of God today.  Many people have this weird view of success, failure or God or a Christian life. Many people think God loves them and want to be with them when everything seems all right or when they think they are in a perfect relationship with God and others. Many think He treats them up right when they do things right. Let me tell you this today, God loves you no matter what. He loves you not because you good or bad. He doesn’t loves you because you do alright or you messed up in life. He loves you no matter what you did or who you are. But this doesn’t mean he wants you to keep on doing the stuff that drags you down from the life that you need to live on. No! He loves you when you don’t feel lovely. He loves you no matter how bad you messed up! Remember, the devil looks back and see how you messed up here and there, but God looks back and see how far you come. He never calculates your progression on your passion. He calculates your progression on the scale of the cross. Because he knows you can’t make it this far by yourself. So, today I want you to know that don’t beat yourself up. Because, when God forgive he forget. “…And will not remember thy sins.”—Isa. 43:25, “I will remember their sin no more.”—Jer. 31:34 and “Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”—Heb. 8:12. Let me tell you this, this very fact that when God saves me that he forgave me all my sins is keep me alive, live in peace, moves me, stirs me up, you name it. Remember, our God specializes calling the “nobodies” and make them “somebodies.” So, stop blaming yourself for what God has already forgave and forget. In fact, he demonstrate his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NIV)

Now take a moment and think about this, no matter how bad you messed up, He still loves you. He loves you and wants the very best for you. His love is unconditional. Other people may tell you this and that, can’t go any farther or make it happen. But you need to open yourself up to the truth and love of God and put your effort and strength in faith and hope in the Lord to your goals and dreams. Get in the position and stay focused. Look up before you give up. Be in control and trust in God. Sometimes your journey is painful and slow. Sometimes you may “fell of the wagon” and every thing looks so dark and hopeless. But remember what God says it is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed (Deuteronomy 31:8) and He also said When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17). Don’t say it’s over until God says it’s over.

So, if you think today that you are neck-deep in sin, or blame yourself for your situations, or feel trapped and see no way out? JESUS is the way out! He loves you and cares for you. You think you messed up really big time and don’t think God doesn’t forgive you? No! Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

It is good to know that you are responsible for all your actions. It is good you recognize you end up where you are right now because you let all the bad stuff into your life. The fact that you really messed up also is an opportunity to turn back to your feet again, if you accept the forgiveness of God and move on from past. So, today close the door to the past. Stop beating yourself up for what you did in the past. Don’t make your mistakes your memories. Your past may be your worst, but you can make the present your best. Stop keep on regretting when you able to keep on moving. Learn from your past don’t live in the past. Don’t let your past paralyze your future. Don’t let negative thoughts and experiences control your progression. Don’t allow broken dreams and unfulfilled promises stop you from enjoying each day. Don’t allow the spirit of captivity destroy the sense of purpose from your life. You may be broken and bruised in life before but don’t let that to be an excuse to grow and be happy in life. God is a God of new things. A new life, a new beginning, new covenant, new hearts, and new way of doing things. Because he is a God of new things there is always hope and future. There is joy and peace. However, for the new things begin the old has to go away. Dear saint, God is doing a new thing right now. But he wants you to get rid off the old so that the new has begun.

Why Should I Pray?

After pondering the perfect sovereignty of God, many have asked the question “Why should I even bother praying then? If God is always going to do His will, and His will is always perfect, then why should we ever pray? The Christian’s most powerful resource is communion with God through prayer. The results are often greater than we thought were possible. Prayer should always comes first, not as a last result, because God’s power is always infinitely greater than ours. Have a wonderful day in His presence. Love you all in Christ.

 

 “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” ~ James 5:16

The answer, it is important to recognize, comes from the same God Who tells us that He “works all things after the counsel of His own will.” This very same God informs us that effectual, fervent prayer on the part of His people avails — not just a little bit, or for a little while, but much!

How can this be? How can an immutable, all-knowing, eternal God listen to our prayers and allow them to influence the outcome of events great and small? Frankly, we may never know or understand. But this we do know: God tells us that our prayers make a tremendous impact.

So then, how should you respond to temptation or trial? Pray. What should you do on behalf of sick, or wayward, or feeble loved ones? Pray. What is your responsibility toward those that have authority over you? Pray for them. How can you make a difference in the world around you? Pray!

Let me encourage you to take God up on His word. I can attest to the incredible power of prayer as I have witnessed God’s unmerited favor in my walk with Him. Not because I deserve it; but simply because I went before His throne and keep, asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7:7). I come to tell you that God still answers prayer; that there is power in prayer. Just be diligent; consistent and have faith.

Learn to Rely on God

 

Proverbs 16:9 says, A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure. Proverbs 20:24 says,Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way? When God directs our paths, He sometimes leads us in ways that don’t make sense to us so we’re not always going to understand everything. If we try to reason out everything, we will experience struggle, confusion and misery—but there is a better way. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. This sounds so simple, yet too many people make the mistake of trying to figure everything out themselves. Most of us have spent our lives trying to take care of ourselves, but when we accept Christ as our Savior, we must learn to trust our lives to His care. When we do, we can say with the psalmist, …I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, You are my God. My times are in Your hands…(Psalm 31:14-15).

First Peter 5:5 tells us that …God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble. Anyone who thinks they’re a self-made man or woman has a rude awakening coming because Jesus said, …apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing (John 15:5). Humility is a covering that draws the help of God into our lives to protect us. When we humble ourselves by saying, “God, I don’t know what to do, but I’m trusting You,” God gets in gear to help us. God won’t allow us to succeed at anything unless we’re leaning and relying on Him. But when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, in due time, He will exalt us (see 1 Peter 5:6). “Due time” is God’s time, when God knows we’re ready, not when we think we’re ready. The sooner we understand and accept that, the sooner God can work His plan in our lives.