Help in a whisper

How quickly we forget—when the wilderness feels too dark, too hard, too long. When we’re challenged with the season of uncertainty and the process of being made stronger so we can fight the giants ahead. There are times when we forget how hard shame-filled living is, and we’re tempted to yearn for what was familiar—to go back to our old ways. So we yield to the pressure.

We decide it’s time to open a bottle when an unforeseen disappointment surprises us, rather than call that person who’s willingly committed to helping us stay on course. Or we answer that call we know we shouldn’t and say yes to going out with the abusive boyfriend one more time—even when all of the warning lights are flashing on the dashboard of our hearts. Or we grow tired of the discipline of believing what God’s Word says we are over the lies of mean people who have always said, “You’re just a loser, and you’ll always be a loser.”

No matter how bad our past, it’s always easier to default to our old behaviors than keep forging new ones. So many of us struggle with the same temptations. But there is no drive-through breakthrough. We all must go through the wilderness to get to freedom so we are strong enough to defeat the giants who fuel our shame.

Jesus died to secure our freedom—freedom from sin, freedom from death, freedom to live once again as Adam and Eve lived in the garden—unashamed, having daily fellowship with our loving Creator and each other. In heaven we will fully enjoy that ultimate freedom. But we don’t have to wait to walk in freedom; Jesus offers us freedom from sin’s slavery now.

Jesus came not only for us to drop our shame-filled life, but also to lead us into a shame-free life. Free to walk into the fullness of every promise that He has for our lives. Free to be who He made us to be. Free to do all that He created us to do.

Lord, I’m strong but I’m tired. I need your hand in my circumstances.  I no longer want to control it all! Help me be strong in You!

Advertisement

“O God, listen to my cry! Hear my Prayer!

When you and I overwhelmed by emotions, we have a place to run to. God is the Towering Rock, Safe Refuge and Fortress where the enemy cannot reach us. We can take our cares, burdens, and worries straight to His Throne coming boldly (Hebrews 4:16) before His Throne and getting the answers we need to go on. He will remind us with His Word and by His Spirit as He confirms His Promises and lifts us above our circumstances so peace is established in our heart and mind again.

“O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!” Psalm 61:1-4

As we learn to live in His Presence and wait on His Way, we will be at peace and satisfied with our life so there is no need to be angry or resentful because we know He prefects that which concerns us (Psalm 138:8) and He is making every detail work out for our good! (Romans 8:28) Why? Because He loves us. You see God knows the end from the beginning, so His Primary Concern is that we make it to the finish line of faith to receive the prize. When we are overwhelmed with any emotion, the Lord promises to show us what to do with those feelings and which way to go. (Psalm 142:1-3) He’s a Good God! He is for us not against us. There is no need to be mad – He is working this out for our good!

Are you mad today? Are you angry or frustrated? Get rid of it. Do away with it in your life. Be free to accept all that God has for you and let His Peace rule your heart and life now and forever more.

Please share this blog with others and I pray it will help with their walk with Christ! ❤ in Christ!

Run the Race with Perseverance

Every one of us has a race to run and we all have days that are easier than others. We cry out to God and ask Him to hear our prayers. But one thing we all need is the right “clothing” to run this race called life. There comes a time when we need to change our clothes in some way. The clothes we wore when we were first saved were right for that time, but today there may be need for our clothing to change and become new, maybe some new equipment or maybe we need to get rid of some things that are holding us back. The scripture below defines what is needed in order for us to finish the race.

Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us~ Hebrews 12:1

Some days we feel like we can conquer anything as this scripture reveals.

For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.~ Psalm 18:29

Then there are days that are harder to get through which is revealed in this scripture.

And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.~ Galatians 6:9

When they shoot a movie, it is has been told that they shoot the last scene of the movie first and that they go back and make the movie in bits and pieces until it reaches that final scene. God does the same thing when He looks at us. He already knows the last scene of our lives. He sees us completed in Him. We make mistakes throughout life and there are times we spend too much time focusing on how we feel and what we see, instead of what we know. We need to see ourselves as God see us as well as seeing others as God sees them. In the scripture below Gideon did not see himself as God saw him ( A Mighty Warrior) and he even questioned God. We have all done that at one time or another and asked God are you sure this what I am supposed to do or where I am supposed to be?

“Now the [a]Angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak (terebinth) at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon was beating wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, you mighty man of [fearless] courage. And Gideon said to him, O sir, if the Lord is with us, why is all this befallen us? And where are all His wondrous works of which our fathers told us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian. The Lord turned to him and said, Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you? Gideon said to Him, Oh Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Behold, my clan is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” ~~ Judges 6:11-15

We as Christian will never excel to the point God would like us to be as long as we just want to exist and most Christians these days are just merely existing. Some are held back by the spirit of fear. Notice what the following scripture says…

“For God did not give us a spirit of fear (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”~~ 2 Timothy 1:7

God has provided us with the POWER and LOVE as well a sound mind. No one has to live in the spirit of fear. Fear comes as a result of us not seeing ourselves as God sees us. We are afraid to step out in faith and by this I mean radical faith not just rational faith. We have to know that within each one of us is the power of God, His love and that the spirit of fear is something we need to extinguish! We need to quit leaning on how we feel and leaning what we see and start leaning on God and excel to the limits of what He wants us to become in Him!

Sometimes we have days that we are extremely tiring, but being tired is not a sin. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is simply Rest! The pursuit of the promise of God is wrapped up in our cries!

 

Take this moment right now and just talk to your Father!!  He loves you unconditionally no matter what you have done or not done…He WANTS to hear from you!!!

 

 

Works That Don’t Work

My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, and they have hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns which cannot hold water.~ Jeremiah 2:13

 

The Word teaches that God’s people dug wells for themselves that couldn’’ hold water. I know what it is like to work hard with no results. I spent many years of my life digging empty wells like these, and I can tell you, it really wears you out. You may be digging an empty well right now. You may be working on something or somebody. You may have your own little project going. You may be following your own plan, trying to make things happen in your own strength and ability. If so, it is not going to work if you have left God out of your plan. Many times we make a plan and then pray for it to work. God wants us to pray first and ask Him for His plan. After we have His plan, then He wants us to trust Him to bring it to pass, as we follow His direction and work in partnership with Him.  Our activity birthed out of the flesh actually prevents God from showing Himself strong in our lives. The Bible describes that kind of activity as “works of the flesh” (see Gal.5:19–21). I call them “works that don’t work.” That is not the way to live the higher life that God prepared for us.

Trust in Him When we wait on God and trust Him, He will bring to pass according to His will what we are believing for—no matter how long it takes.

When our Faith Wavers!

If we believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised, why do so many of us habitually waver in our prayers? Instead of exercising bold faith, we come to the Lord “hoping” He will hear us and answer our requests, but we’re just not sure He will. With this kind of thinking, we cannot expect to receive anything from Him.

 ^“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” ~~James 1:5-8

One reason we are so prone to doubt is that we fail to see God at work in our circumstances. We asked, and nothing happened. But the Lord is not some cosmic bellhop who jumps in response to our requests. He sees past, present, and future and knows the right time for every answer. His invisible hand is already at work on our behalf—arranging situations to accomplish His will, opening hearts, and preparing us to receive what He wants to give. Another cause for uncertainty is ignorance. If we don’t know God’s ways, we will be disappointed in His response. All too often our prayers are accompanied by expectations of how He will work. When He fails to intervene according to our timetable or anticipated method, we start to doubt. But placing our faith in the Lord and trusting in His good and perfect ways gives us stability as we wait for His answer.

To overcome doubts, spend time in the Word to learn God’s principles and ways. Then you’ll begin to grasp what He wants to achieve in your life and how He goes about it. Examine your past from a biblical perspective—faith will grow as you see the unexpected ways He answered your prayers.

Have a wonderful day in the Lord’s presence.

 

God is the only One who can Guide us!

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. 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. In other 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.

I encourage you 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.

 

GROW IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD!

GROW IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD!.

God is with you!

In my quiet time this morning I was led to this scripture and message for everyone to meditate on. 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!

Prayer

Lord, I come before You in faith today.
Knowing that all power is in Your hands.
I know that You are the Lord over everything.
I know that You love and care for Your people.
Right now, my friends are struggling with difficult trials.
Right now, some are facing tough tribulations.
I can see their strength is faltering, Lord.
I lift them up in prayer to You Lord, show them the way.
I know that You have all of the strength they need.
I know You have all the guidance they need.
I pray that You will reach down and touch them right now.
Touch them with Your loving grace.
Make Yourself known to them.
Touch them with Your wisdom and understanding.
Wherever they are, at this very moment.
Let Your presence fill up their spirits.
Let them feel an extra portion of Your strength.
Let them feel an extra portion of Your comfort.
Let them feel an extra portion of Your peace.
Help them to get through this day and the days that come.
They need You now, Lord.
Only You can give them what they so desperately need.
I thank You in advance for meeting them where they are.
I thank You for storing up their strength in their difficult time.
May Your will be done in their lives.
In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous. ~ Isaiah 41:10~

Scripture/Devotional

Scripture/Devotional.