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Tag: Strength

He Will Renew Us

He Will Renew Us

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Renewed strength.

Today in service there was healing in the room. I’m not saying there isn’t healing every Sunday, but today something changed in me. I realized how bound up I have been in some areas. There are things that I have been carrying around that I couldn’t really share with anyone. Not because they were so bad, but because I didn’t know how. I didn’t want someone to give me a quick fix. I needed my strength renewed. I needed to know that God was not disappointed in me. Only God could do that. 

I was feeling tired and worn out in ways I didn’t even realize. But God knew. He knew exactly what I needed, and He stirred the atmosphere. Everything in that service was predestined. I love that about God. He will turn the world upside down if He has to for us. 

I know I wasn’t the only one, but I felt like it was just for me. That’s how it is with our Father. Even though He sees us all, and hears us all…at the same time, He makes us feel like we’re the only one. 

Today, I just wanted to acknowledge His presence. I appreciate the way He loves us. I love Him so much. And I thank Him for knowing what we need when we need it the most. Not because He DOES something, but because He IS something. He is Jehovah Rapha (The Lord that heals), and according to HIs word…healing is something we already have. We simply have to believe it. 

In John 15:7 it says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Keep praying. Don’t give up. God has not forgotten. He always knows what we’re going through, and at the proper time, He will move.

If His words abide in us, and we believe that God is who He says He is, then we have to believe that He can do what He says He will do. 

Until next time…

Be blessed

The Power of God’s Presence

The Power of God’s Presence

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The power of God’s presence can be overwhelming, but it can be empowering too. 

Most of the time though we don’t even realize he is there. We go about our lives without recognizing, or even acknowledging Him. We get so used to Him being there that we start to take Him for granted. 

It’s not intentional, but it does take advantage of the way He loves us. 

We sometimes think that if we are where God is there is no conflict, no issues, no problems, and when that doesn’t happen, we feel like He has abandoned us. The truth is there is never a time when we are not in His presence. So, when we are going through our season of triumph or our season of turmoil…He is there. 

In Psalm 139:4-6, it says, “God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too—your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful—I can’t take it all in!” (MSG)

These verses are saying that no matter where we are or what we do…God knows us intimately. Before we even think a thought, or speak a word…He knows. 

It’s comforting to know that no matter where we are, we are never alone. That in Him there is no condemnation, no guilt, and no shame. That we can find peace that surpasses all understanding, love that overflows, and joy that really makes no sense at times.

Knowing that strengthens me, and gives me an assurance that can only come from being in His presence.

Until next time…

Be blessed

I’m Learning to be Content

I’m Learning to be Content

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Winter is definitely not giving up without a fight…

I have a new appreciation for those workers who have to work outside. But, even with all of the cold we are having, and as tired as I am feeling right now…I am still so grateful for every single day God allows me to be on the face of this earth.

This morning I woke up feeling God’s hand holding me. I just felt secure…safe. I know that He ministers to my spirit as I sleep (that’s probably the only time my mind is at rest). That’s one of the things I love about Him. He never stops coming after us. So, I have to believe that whatever was on my mind when I went to bed last night is being taken care of by the Master. I have been striving to be more like Paul when he says he has learned to be “content” in whatever situation he finds himself in (Philippians 4:11).

There is a beauty in being content. It says that I trust the providence of God.

When we believe that everything is in God’s hands it makes it easier to let go. I believe that as long as we hold on to people, and things, it blocks the flow of God’s plan in our lives. He wants to do big things through us. But, we often get in the way.

Our little finite minds still think we have control. I guess in some things we do. We have the power of choice, and we can choose to believe or not believe—to follow Him, or not follow Him. I want to follow Him. I want my life to reflect the love of Jesus Christ, but for some reason I keep going left when I should be going right. I sit down when I should be standing up, and I watch way too much television…especially when there are plenty of things I should be doing. 

In spite of all of that, I know that God loves me more than anything. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me. Just for me. And if there was no one else in the world, God still would have send Jesus for me. If I didn’t believe that, I don’t know what my life would be like. And to be honest…I don’t want to know. I love Him. He loves me. And that’s enough.

I pray that for each of us. I pray that we continue to walk in the newness that comes from a life that is sold out to God. I pray that His strength will help carry us through those times when we want to quit. 

And I pray that we all begin to appreciate the gift that is Jesus Christ just a little bit more.

Until next time…

Be blessed

A Heart Full of Thanksgiving

A Heart Full of Thanksgiving

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It’s hard to believe that this past Thursday was Thanksgiving. In some ways it seems like this year has gone by so quickly, and in other ways it seems like the longest year ever.

Navigating this new life has not been easy. There have been so many trials and times of testing that I have actually lost count. So many times I felt like I wanted to give up. In the past I have always been able to praise my way through any situation, but not this time. Many days I found myself struggling to get out of that dark place. Some days, I would be so low that I couldn’t even pray, and God would have someone send me a text or an email that would give me enough strength to make it one more day. And I thank Him from the bottom of my heart for that.

God saw that I was sinking fast, and He reached down and held on to me until I could get my footing. The Bible says that He will never leave us nor forsake us. And this is what I know…He will always stand by His word. He not only held onto me, He gave me a new purpose, and I am so grateful.

So, in this season of thanksgiving, with all of its ups and downs, ins and outs…I wanted to take time to just thank God for being so good, so kind, and so loving. I thank Him for being my help in times of trouble. I thank Him for giving me a test so that I could have a testimony. I thank Him for sending people who spoke life into my life. 

“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth…” (Psalm 34:1).

Until next time…

Be blessed 

In This Season

In This Season

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The season that we have been going through…and I emphasize “going through,” because I believe that God is about to bring us out, is strengthening our inner man. What I mean is that I think we are stronger than we have been in a long time, and it’s not from anything that we have done…it has all been God’s doing. He is teaching us that we can’t continue to depend on our natural ability. Some things are going to just take faith.

The “seasons” in our lives are similar to the earth’s seasons. There is a cycle to everything. Just as spring follows winter, we will have good days, and bad days. The thing is that we need to hold on to the good days as long as possible, because our thoughts tend to lean to the negative. I don’t know why, but we seem to remember the thing that hurt us way faster than we do the thing that blessed us.

It can sometimes feel like being in a boxing match. Although I have never been in an actual boxing match, I have seen one, and I imagine that it must feel a lot like this. Some days we are so strong that we feel like we could take on the world, and the next day it’s like the weight of the world are on our shoulders. But don’t get tired. Don’t get discouraged. We have an Advocate, and His name is Jesus. In John 10:10 it says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” But, I love what it says next, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” That statement right there cancels everything said before it. 

If we stay connected to the source of our strength, and keep our focus on Him…nothing will be able to stop us.

Until next time…

Be blessed

A New Place

A New Place

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I have always been a worrier…although I like the word cautious better. I try to plan out everything, because I don’t like leaving things to chance. That’s just not who I am…or at least not who I used to be. Thankfully, I have allowed myself to be changed. When you give your life to God, He really does change you. 

A good friend once told me that I needed to be more spontaneous, but I tried to even plan that.

This year I made a promise to myself that I will not feel guilty for making a mistake. I would not hold myself hostage to the things I said I would do by the time I was 18, 21, 40, or for not following through on my own plans. I am just giving myself permission to rest in who God has made me to be. Even the Bible says, “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). It says so right in the scripture. God made us, and He knows the plan…not us. Our job is to follow Him.

I know that it won’t be easy, but I trust in the promises of God, and I want to be so close to Him that He trips over me every time He turns around. I want to enjoy every day…even the ones that cause me to say scriptures out loud…lol.

I love the Lord, and I know that everything He does is good—whether I think so at the time or not. I know that God hears my prayers, and that He has put in me everything that I need to be the woman of God that He has called me to be. I know that I have the power of the Lord within me, and that gives me strength for the journey. I trust Him in a way I never have before. He is opening up new ways for me, and little by little, I am beginning to see the vision.

I know that everything I went through over the last couple of years has brought me to a new place in Him. He is my Comforter, my Hero, my Friend…and although His teaching is sometimes hard, I know that it is necessary, and I know He always works it out for my good.

Lord, I pray for the person who is reading this message today. I pray that you reveal to them a new way of seeing…that they begin to see with their hearts—and not their eyes. I pray that they will see the manifestation of whatever dream you have given to them. I pray that they will hold on to Your promises, and that whenever they feel weak, they will remember that they have an Advocate who is standing by waiting…

Until next time…

Be blessed!