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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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.

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.

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.

“Even all the Hairs of your Head are Numbered.”

So when Jesus said, “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered,” He was not exaggerating. He never exaggerates. He means what He says and He says what He means. So for the Lord to say that the very hairs of your head are all numbered means that He wants you to know that He is very interested in you and has intimate knowledge about you — your body, family, finances, relationships… everything in your life! This numbering suggests a deep intimacy, that God knows us better than we know ourselves. And that He loves us beyond our wildest dreams. I often wonder how many of us actually live in this truth. Have a wonderful day in His presence basking in His love you us.

 

“Even all the hairs of your head are numbered.” ~  Matthew 10:30

I believe most believers go in and out of that reality. Where they have had times of deep heartfelt tears just streaming from their eyes, overwhelmed by the awesomeness of that love. Also they all have had times of deep desperation, overwhelmed by fear and doubt of that love. Sometimes they can feel that God is so big and “out there” that He couldn’t possibly be interested in how many hairs are on their head. But the wonderful truth is that He is big enough and small enough – big enough to create the universe and small enough to be close to me…and to you.

He knows the pain you have been having in your body. He is aware of the financial worry which you have been keeping from your family. He sees how your nasty boss is treating you. He understands the hurts you have been keeping in your heart from a broken marriage. Your heavenly Father wants you to know that as long as something concerns you, He does not overlook it,

God knows you intimately. He knows every small problem you are worried about and every single burden you have. And when you approach Him for help, He has all the time for you as if no one else exists. That is how valuable you are to Him and how absorbed He is in you!

Morning, Noon and Night!

”Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice.” ~ Psalm 55:17

I absolutely love that we can seek the Lord not only in morning quietness but consistently throughout the day. Let me encourage you to not let unexpected problems distract you from His Presence. Instead, talk with Him about everything, and watch confidently to see what He will do. We need to be grateful that we can talk to God at any time, and how blessed we are that He listens and cares!

Our heavenly Father yearns to have a personal, loving relationship with us. What an incredible concept that is! The King of the universe the Creator of all heaven and earth, the maker of the moon, sun and stars. the one who has no needs and no shortcomings and cares about what we think and feel. That is almost incomprehensible. He wants to spend time with us, hear about our struggles and successes, encourage us, and share His glorious plans for us.

Prayer is a wonderful privilege a chance for direct communication with our Creator. No matter how busy He may be, He always has time in His schedule for us.

 

Problemed Promise

TO KNOW GOD’S PROMISES AND HIS PROVISIONS
God has never asked anything from His children that was not for their benefit. Our Christian journey is about Faith! Learning to lean on Jesus and to live by faith! A faith that call us and moves us to Action! True worship always requires 2 things: Worship – always requires Obedience and Worship – always requires Sacrifice!

Genesis 22:1-8 (NKJV) ~ Abraham’s Faith Confirmed
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad[a] and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

Abraham was told to take his son to the mountain and sacrifice his life for God. Imagine having to sacrifice your loved one? I cannot!! But Abraham had some radical faith. Abraham believed in God’s promises and did not focus on the problem/provision. He faithfully obeyed God and took Isaac up the mountain. He left the men with full intention to fulfill God’s request and would return with full assurance that he would return ‘with the boy. He didn’t how God was going to do it but knowing God was enough.
Why do we do what we do? Such as saying grace, praying, reading the word….we do it because we want to know God!!! Our responsibility is to believe God and obey God just like Abraham did. Abraham was released from the responsibility of preforming and trying to figure out how he would not have to kill his son; he was only to trust God and know that God would provide the sacrifice. Abraham went up the mountain with the promise of God and came down the mountain with the provision of God. All Abraham saw was the promise! He held on to his faith in God!!

Point to ponder: You only see that one side of the mountain, but God sees both sides. Hold onto the Promises of God and Let Him send His Provisions!

Weathering the Storms of Life!

 

Do you know that every problem and troubling situation believers face in this life is allowed by God for a specific purpose. He is working out something far greater than what appears to be happening as He guides the process of transforming you into the image of Christ. Your faith is being sharpened as a sword to equip you for the battles of this world. The path of victory has already been set and there is nothing that can destroy a believer who has put his faith in the cross of Jesus. We are commanded to be anxious for nothing and no one. But, is that still possible when the darkness of the storm surrounds us? Yes God can deliver us from the storms of life or take us through them, giving us the strength and courage we need. Do you find yourself in a storm today? Ask God for the strength and courage to weather it and for the wisdom to understand it, not waste it.

“He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor! Psalm 107:29-30

The truth is that the strength to endure every painful trial is with you in Christ. You may be feeling weary and completely overwhelmed but the bible tells us that God is close to the broken-hearted and he is near to us in our pain. He does not abandon you when your situation is bleak. As you lift up your fears to him in thankfulness and prayer, you allow his power to be unleashed in your life as he takes your struggle and makes it work into his perfect plan for you. God knows your weaknesses and has seen your failures yet his power is more than enough to take you safely through. You may be wounded but you will never be destroyed!

Take heart my friends and know without a doubt the struggles and trials you suffer are always an opportunity for God to reveal his power to you. It is being worked out in the timing of God who already knows the outcome. Each time a painful situation brings you to your knees, use that position to give glory to God! It frustrates the devil when you do. Never let the enemy convince you to surrender in the heat of battle for you are nowhere near being defeated. You have been made more than a conqueror through Christ and he is not about to let you fail.

The Views Of Pain in our Lives!

In these passages below the disciples decided to focus on the hurt and sin instead of seeing the picture of God working through it. We can do the same thing. Why did God allow this to happen in my life? Why is there evil in the world? Would a loving God allow so many starving children to die? We have all thought something similar to one of these questions. In God’s wisdom, he has decided to not divulge too much of where evil comes from or it’s origin (Deuteronomy 29:29). Have a wonderful day as you remain in His presence.

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:1-3)

This mystery can consume people to the core of their being and they never forgive God for an event they feel He is to blame for. But, we do know that all things work together for the good of those that love God (Romans 8:28). Instead of focusing on the “disease”, we should be focusing on the cure that is Jesus. Jesus told his disciples that they were looking for the wrong thing. Stop looking for something to blame and start looking for God to praise. They were blinded by the problem of pain, instead of seeing God’s glory displayed. They could have easily missed out on the works of God.

Think about that for a minute. Have you been focusing so much on the problem of pain in your life or of those around you and miss the glory of God being displayed? Realizing that God can bring good out of our hard times is also what allows us as a Christians to make it through those times. Joseph is the perfect example of this as he is sold by his brothers, becomes a slave, is put in jail, and eventually the right hand man of the king. What the enemy intended to harm him, but God intended it for good.” Genesis 50:20. Jesus took the greatest sin of all, death of an innocent man, and turned it into the greatest work of God’s glory to be displayed.