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Finding Balance In God’s Promises

Isaiah 41:10

10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee” – God wants to trade His fellowship for your Fears

Fear tries to overtake us all

  • fear of death
  • fear of failure
  • fear of losing security
  • fear of the future
  • fear of being alone

God answers these fears:

  • Death: “to die is gain” – Philippians 1:21
  • Failure: “I can do all things” – Philippians 4:13
  • Security: “My God shall supply all your need” – Philippians 4:19
  • Future: “Lo, I am with you always” – Matthew 28:20
  • Being alone: “I will never leave nor forsake thee” – Hebrews 13:5-6

Be not dismayed, for I am thy God” – God wants to give His comfort for your confusion

Dismay = “Why did this happen to me”

Confusion = “I don’t understand why God let this happen”

No matter what happens we belong to Him – through good and bad God doesn’t change. We are his, even in difficult times!

I will strengthen thee” – God wants to give His strength for your weakness

We have so many reasons for feeling week and weary:

  • sickness
  • regrets over our past mistakes
  • conflict with temptation

The great thing about God is that

  • God never becomes weary nor feels faint
  • Rather, he gives power to us whom faint
  • He imparts strength to those he loves

I will help thee” – God wants to give His help for your helplessness

Sometimes all we can do is cry out for helplessness

Remember to reach for Jesus because he is reaching out to you

I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” God wants to give you salvation for your sins

  • Christ is the son of God’s right hand
  • Jesus has made righteousness through a life of salvation available through faith
  • He took the sins upon Himself so that we could give them away

When I Think About Trouble…Ummm…Yeah Don’t

When our minds are not able to be in focus to our walk with God, it is truly hard to utilize and understand the true power and fulfillment of the promises and blessings that God has given and will give in the future.

That’s a big statement, but when applied each and every day can be SO true. If our mind gets continually stressed with a thought that is always on our mind, that is very easily representative to a wound that we refuse to bandage; for not allowing God to begin to lift the care from your mind and replace it with peace defeats the purpose of know about the peace that surpasses all understanding. If we do not allow God to lift us up when we are down by accepting the joy of the Lord, it does us little good to know about it!

So when trouble decides to pay you a visit through any medium of communication or situation, begin to focus upon God and not the trouble! Refuse to let something so small compared to God win the battle of your heart and mind. When we are not able to attain to higher faith we are not able to lead others to it. If I cannot believe God for the small things in life I would definitely have no business even writing this today. We must trust God! We must believe! We must have faith that if God has done it for you or for others through given testimony or experience than it can happen for you through prayer, faith, belief and obedience!

So when we think about trouble, think about God and how that this so-called “trouble” has to begin to flee at the very mention of God’s power. And always remember, the only time we never win with God is when we don’t choose to believe we’re winners!

Working Through The Hurt

THE WORD

I John 4:7, 11, and 12 – Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There are many guarantees that life tries to give but it can never promise that you will never be hurt. Trust me, if anyone knows this it would be me. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I have finally realized through trials throughout my life and in the past year that I will be hurt sometimes but I always have the comfort of God to move on. We must all choose to move forward regardless of what we are dealing with. We read in the word of God about that comforter and I am so glad it is real. In times when I am down and count all my mistakes, the comfort of the Holy Spirit comes to encourage me.

Do not be disappointed when people let you down; for at some point they always do. The only constant that we have that can help us in our time of hurt is God! He can heal the broken hearted and place forgiveness within you that you never thought you could possess. You will be able to stand and fight on another day! I wish I could say that the church you attend is always going to see when you are hurt, but sometimes it will be missed. Remember that the presence of God will stick to you closer than a brother and will be whatever you need in your life. It WILL fill the empty voids that you feel inside! This breaks my heart to write as a minister but it should remind us that there should never be an opportunity slip by where we can perform outreach for hurting people. The next time you are at church may be the last time to do it. I just hope and pray in the times ahead of us that we learn to come together regardless of our differences and remember the true meaning of being “fishers of men”!

PUT INTO PRACTICE

When you recognize someone that is hurting from a situation, offer to pray with them. I am challenging you to call on the comforter to help in ways we cannot do ourselves!

Through The Fire

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Everyone seems to be going through some sort of trial in their life. Whether it be from sickness, finances, marriage struggles, or addictions, people are all facing serious issues or know someone who is going through it.

Today, I’d like to offer a message of hope and encouragement to everyone who is finding themselves in this place.  Even those who seem to have everything going for them, it could be tomorrow that even you face something of this magnitude.  We are never ‘ready’ per say to face these things, but I want to give you some of God’s Word so that maybe in your moments of despair, you can draw strength from God’s promises and know that He can take you through the fire.

As God’s Children, we know that if we just depend on him to help us through our troubles, that He will be a very present help, and will, indeed, see us through the fire.  I am reminded of three Hebrew boys that were thrown into a fiery furnace.  They literally went into the fire.  They believed that God would take care of them and that the outcome would be victory because they had God on their side.  Sure enough, they found themselves in the middle of a hot fiery furnace, and who do you think was there with them?  Only the three of them had been thrown in, but yet, there was a fourth man walking with them in the fire.  Praise the Lord!  Jesus was there walking with them right in the middle of their trial!  And when the King called for them to come out of the fire, they walked right out without any evidence of being burned.  Their hairs were not singed.  Their garments were unchanged.  They didn’t even smell of smoke.  So, God literally took them through the fire!

Isaiah 43:1-3 says, “But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

So God’s promises tell us that not only will He take us through the fire, but no matter what circumstances are in front of us, that He will bring us through them victoriously.  His power is so mighty that he can even bring us through our troubles without any evidence that we even went through them!  We do not have to be tainted by the things we’ve been through.  God’s love, grace, and mercy is more than enough to wash us white as snow and make us new once again!

His word says that His children have an expected end.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Praise God!  If we can just keep the faith and trust in God, He will see us to a time of victory in our lives! Psalm 9:10 says, “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”

I know it is easier said than done, but don’t be afraid to face your trials if you’ve got God on your side. He is faithful and true.

David said in Psalm 23: 4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Deuteronomy 31:6 says for us to “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, He that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

And remember, that we as believers always have people watching us as we go through our trials.  People who are lost and desperate; they are looking to us to see how we handle our troubles.  Do we put our faith in God?  Do we really let Him work in our lives?  In our circumstances?  Does God really give His people victory?  Does our lives show victory and God’s Glory or do we show defeat?

It is important for others to see us believing that God will take us through the fire.  They may not be able to physically see God’s presence in our lives like the King saw Jesus walking with the three Hebrew boys in the furnace, but they will see the effects of God’s presence!  They will see victory.  They will see us brought through the fire without being burnt!  Do you know that the King believed that day on the true living God after seeing Jesus in the fire with the Hebrew boys? In today’s society, people are so desperate to find something that will help them cope with their daily struggles.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could just live our lives in a way that people could see the victory even in the fire!?

We know that we all have our own problems and God didn’t say that we wouldn’t have them.  But I encourage you to just remember, that He said He would bear our burdens and give us the help and victory that we need!  He is an ever present help in a time of trouble.  Don’t try to go through the fire without Him!