Trust in the LORD with all your heart!

Good morning! Today in my quiet time God led me to one of my favorite scriptures and this message for you to reflect on today. When we are going through difficult times, times when we are in the valley. We find it hard to trust in God and believe that He is sovereign over our lives. When life is easy and relaxed, it’s easy to put our hope in Him. But when times get hard and life is rough, we tend to doubt God, many Christians have struggled with this. The truth is God is sovereign and in control whether we feel like it or not. He is always there for us, willing to offer us comfort and peace, if we will only turn to Him and accept it.

I have found this verse a huge help and encouragement in my life any time I am struggling with worry and fear or doubt about God. I remind myself of the truth in this verse. My choice boils down to believing what God says . . . or not. Especially during the hard times, I have to remind myself to trust in God and to find rest and peace in Him and His Word.

Have you ever struggled with doubt and/or fear? Do you question God’s sovereignty when things are rough in your own life?  There is no doubt that we will go through hard times in our life. (The Bible guarantees that we will!) What will we do when those hard times happen? Will we doubt God or will we trust that He is perfect and in control of all things?

The next time you are going through a hard time remember that God is sovereign and loves you so much. He desires for you to trust in Him and find peace in Him. He wants to offer you the strength to make it through those hard times. For me, the best way to find strength and comfort in God is by meditating on verses like this one I shared above, listening to Christian worship music and getting along praying and listening to God. When I do those things, I feel such a peace in my heart that God is in control and I can put all of my trust in Him.

Have a wonderful day as you put your complete trust in God. Love you all.

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Having Hope when we mess up!

Have you ever messed up so badly that it left you believing God wants nothing to do with you? If your answer is “yes,” then you’re in good company, because we all have. But, if you’re willing to admit you’ve messed up, you’re a prime candidate for an encounter with Jesus. In fact, He specializes in ministering to messed-up people. One of the many things I love about Jesus is that He gravitates toward those who are typically ignored, ridiculed, hated and rejected. Have a wonderful day as we thank God for loving us so much that He destroyed every possible barrier that could keep us from Him.

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” John 4:13-15

One of the greatest examples of this is found in the book of John. In chapter 4, Jesus encounters a woman at a well. This nameless woman meets Jesus while she performs one of the most mundane tasks in her messed-up life — drawing water out of a well.

She quickly learned a lesson we all need to know as well — the mundane can become momentous when we let Jesus clean up our mess-ups and radically change our lives. Jesus wants to clean up our mess-ups so much that He will break down every possible barrier to do so.

We live in a culture that teaches us to hide our mess-ups and call them anything except the sins that they are. Jesus demonstrated through this woman that He will forgive us when we are willing to confess our sin to Him.

Jesus is not intimidated by our past. He sees beyond our failures and offers us a faithful future. You can’t do anything so bad that it will cause God to love you less.

If you’re reading this today and feel like Jesus wants nothing to do with you, I want you to know that He will break every possible barrier to reach you. Jesus is so serious about the task that He left heaven and came to earth to restore anyone who is willing to be cleansed. Today, you can meet with Jesus, bring Him your mess-ups, and allow Him to clean you up.

Broken paths

Do you feel like God has led you through the desert? Do you trust that He can and will make a way for your broken paths to be made straight when you call on Him? Spend a few moments contemplating the circumstances of your harder way. Then lift your eyes from your situation to your Savior. Call on God, and say to your soul: Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today…the LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today … the LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:13-14).

Life is filled with challenges. The struggles we endure often leave our hearts breaking and our minds aching for reprieve. I’ve not battled anything as serious as cancer, etc,  but I have experienced some times when I’ve been crushed by circumstances that are beyond my control … and I’ve learned that hard times are inevitable and that they hurt.

Every one of us doubts at times. We all fail to trust. But Scripture assures us that even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. As we walk broken paths that challenge our faith, the truth remains that God does deliver in and through the pain. Though there are struggles that we might take to the grave with us, God is still good. Each hard place is an opportunity for Jesus to show His power in and through our lives.

As believers God has given us His Holy Spirit to lead us by day and by night, to be our Strength, our Power, and our Direction in the deserts of life. Just as God made a way for the Israelites when they called on Him as they faced a seemingly impossible Red Sea situation, He will make a way for you. Call on His name. Trust His plan. Reach for His hand.

I’ve seen it in my own life. God delights to deliver us from our hard places in and through the pain. Hang in there, my friends. He knows each tear you’ve cried and He has never left your side. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

WALKING ON THE BROKEN PATH? God delights to heal and transform lives … including your own.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen!

Sometimes we just don’t get it, but that’s okay. We don’t have to get it. We don’t have to understand. But we still must trust God, we know His ways are so much higher than our ways. So we must release the tight grip we have on our circumstances, and give them Him. We need to look for moments of sudden glory-HIS PRESENCE in the confusing circumstances of our lives.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

As you live and move and have your being in Christ, at some point, difficult days will come. We live in a fallen world, and suffering is simply a part of it. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble,” (John 16:33). It’s a sure thing.

When we experience shattered dreams, broken relationships, tragic losses, or unfulfilled longings, it can be difficult to feel God’s presence, to see His hand, and to hear His voice. Glory moments cease when we close our eyes in pain and tune God out in anger. That doesn’t mean that God is not there. It only means that the sadness in our own hearts has drawn the shades and locked the doors. We question whether or not we even want to live in union with God if this is where the path leads. We tend to wriggle out of His arms like an angry child or slip out of His embrace like a disgruntled lover, all the while hoping He will pull us back in and tell us that we have simply misunderstood.

And while we complain of God’s silence or seeming indifference during difficult times, He is always there working behind the scenes in ways we may never understand.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen (our circumstances), but on what is unseen (God’s presence). For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18, parentheses mine). One day, it will all make sense. Until then…we trust. And when we have the faith to keep our eyes open during the dark times, God will scatter moments of sudden glory like stars in the inky sky.

When Your Circumstances Don’t Make You feel Thankful!

God is patiently waiting for the day when we choose to trust that He has been planning our future, and has been equipping us for purpose, during our entire lives, through every circumstance – good and bad. Waiting for us to believe that our lives have meaning and we are destined for a unique purpose – not despite our past, but because of it.

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

The only hurdle to embracing God’s unconditional love and seeing and fulfilling His divine purpose for our lives, is our own lack of faith, not God’s lack of love or planning. Before our eyes can really be opened to see God at work, we have to first learn to be thankful for what we have experienced in life, even when our common sense tell us just the opposite.

But let’s face it – a faith on fire for Christ that compels us to push past our biggest hurts and fears and trust God above all else is never going to be easy. If it were, everybody would do it. But when we practice true thankfulness like we are reminded to have in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, anything is possible in Christ – including an amazing life of purpose we would have never imagined.

You see, God knows how He wants to use our pain for His purposes, and we are all called to trust Him so that He can help us see why we really can be thankful for it.

God never allows or causes something to happen in our lives without having an incredible plan for holy purpose. A purpose that brings us joy and abundant life when we are willing to embrace it. A purpose that makes life worth living. A purpose that brings joy and peace. And for all that – we can most certainly be thankful.

Having great Endurance and Patience!

 “Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.” ~~ Colossians 1:11

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul admonishes the Christians to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.” He then tells them how. He says to get our strength from God’s power so we can exercise “great endurance and patience. We want stuff and we want it now. We want results and we want them now. Yet the Bible repeatedly says that patience should be a way of life for followers of Christ. To have patience is the ability to endure graciously. We also have to exercise patience with God as we wait for His full plan to unfold.  At times we must wait for answers to prayers, for deliverance, for provision, or for Him to dispense justice or reveal His will.  We really have no choice but to wait in these circumstances, but a child of God who is developing patience will endure the wait graciously. It helps to remember how very patient God has to be with us on a daily basis!

Exercising patience isn’t just an exercise of the human will. The kind of patience Paul is talking about is a fruit of the Spirit developed in a person’s soul in tandem with God. It’s a virtue that grows from their confidence in the sovereignty of God and His ability to bring all things to completion, in His timing, in a way that benefits His children and glorifies Him.

Endurance and patience pleases God. Patience is easier accomplished when there is hope. Where there seems to be a sense of fairness, it is easier to endure. But how often do we have that luxury? It is during difficult situations where all seems lost, where hope is nowhere to be found, that we must trust God and be strengthened in a way that only His power could accomplish. We come to Him, with all His glorious might, and choose to deliberately be patient and endure. It is an act of faith, one that is pleasing to Him. Today, trust God and His power, put your situation into His hands and choose to be patient and endure.

Have a wonderful day in the presence of the Lord as you wait with endurance and patience.. Love you all in Christ. 

God Delights in You!

Do you believe God is watching over you, smiling and delighting in the fact that you are HIS child as a born-again believer? Close your eyes and picture God watching over you at this moment. No matter what you have done or what has been done to you, God’s love reaches down to hold you in His arms. Bow your head and tilt your heart to listen to Him whisper, “You are precious in my sight and I love you.” (Isaiah. 43:4,) Now rest in the promise that He loves you, He knows your needs, and He’s constantly by your side.

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”  Zephaniah 3:17

My friends, our heavenly Father, is watching over you. He calls you His treasured possession, the apple of His eye. There have been times when I have felt as if His hand is upon my head, letting me know that He is watching over me. To be in the loving arms of my ABBA Father is safest place of all. He takes great delight in you, just because you are His son/daughter. When you feel afraid or even a little scared, He will quiet you with His love. He says to you, “Everything is going to be alright. Your ABBA Father is here just for you.” His words are so soothing to me. They bring me peace. He rejoices over us by singing songs of His never-ending love for us.

You know, God loves to be with us and watch over us. It’s not because we are doing anything for Him, but simply because we are His. We might have even disappointed Him that day, but it doesn’t change how He feels about us.

I sense God wants you to know today that He delights greatly in you my friends. And with His love, He is there today to quiet your fears, concerns, insecurities and doubts. I have a feeling the joy-filled songs He sings over you are written just for you, describing the beautiful person He’s created you to be, while gently leading your heart to know and rely on His love more and more each day

What a great reminder for times when nothing’s going right; when we feel like the whole world is against us and nobody understands what we’re going through. I hope the next time you have one of those days you’ll imagine Your Heavenly Father loves and delights in you even more then you can imagine!